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Greetings & Civilities

Forms of Address

The Japanese equivalentof‘Mr’, ‘Mrs’, or‘Miss’ is san. It’san all-purpose polite suffix that should be added on to the family name. A person whose family name is Watanabe should be addressed as watanabe-san. The title sama serves the same purpose as san but is morę formal. Never refer to yourself or

anyone in your immediate family as ........ .san as this

address is reserved as a means of showing respect to others.

Most Japanese have a two-part name consisting of a family name and a given name. Traditionally, the family name precedes the given name in writing or speech, but, sińce many Japanese switch the order to accommodate foreigners, it is best to ask which is the family name if you are unsure. Do not address acąuaintances by their given names.

Very important words in Japanese are dózo (please) and arigató gozaimasu (thank you) - use them liberally. Dózo can be used in situations such as inviting someone to be seated or to enter a doorway before you. Arigató gozaimasu can be shortened to arigató and is often used in conjunction with dómo.

Attracting Someone's Attention

If you need to attract someone's attention, the Japanese equivalent of ‘excuse me’ is sumimasen. Before approaching someone for assistance of any kind it is polite to preface your question with this expression. In shops it is possible to cali for attention with gomen kudasai.

Greetings

There is no real all purpose word for ‘hello’ in Japanese. Rather the Japanese use a number of different expressions at different times of the day:

Good morning.

ohayó gozaimasu Good aftemoon.

konnichiwa Good evening. konbanwa

Hello (on the telephone) moshi moshi

Welcome

An important greeting you will hear when you enter Japanese homes, shops, restaurants, even lifts is irasshaimase (welcome). There is no need to respond.

Meeting People

When meeting for the first time, the Japanese have a number of expressions which correspond roughly to the English expressions ‘how do you do’ and ‘pleased to meet you’. The speaker accompanies his/her introduction with a

bo w.