To write your name in Japanese, the easiest way is to find a Katakana letter that corresponds to the pronunciation of your Japanese name.
There are of course many other options such as “sama” (highly revered customer or company manager) or “sensei” (Dr. Do you add SAN to first or last name in Japan?Īs a rule of thumb, in Japanese business life, the surname name is always followed by the honorific suffix “san” (meaning “dear” or actually “honorable Mr/Ms.”). Japan adopted the first name before surname order for use in English about 150 years ago as a way to modernize and internationalize itself by imitating the Western style, according to the Agency for Cultural Affairs. However, some given names may also be written in the phonetic syllabary of hiragana or katakana. These characters can have different pronunciations depending on the context. Japanese names are usually written in kanji script, which are symbols that represent words or ideas. When Japanese names are written in English, they are usually flipped into the Western order, but this is slowly changing. This is called “ Eastern name order,” and the reason for it has to do with grammar.
Japanese custom is to put the family name first, as in China and Korea. Why do they say names backwards in Japan?
32 Is romaji last name first? Do Japanese write last name first?Īs is common in East Asian cultures, in Japanese the family name always comes first.