If, in English, you call someone Miura Goro, chances are, they've switched it to the English convention. In Japan, he would be Goro Miura. The family name comes first. For instance, I would be Iga Kevin. Suppose a stranger is being introduced to him. Aki: So, you are Goro Miura San. I am Kaneshiro Aki. Miura: Pleased to meet you, Kaneshiro San. Note that -San is used, when being somewhat formal, and it is used with the surname, and can be used with the full name. It is never applied to oneself. Taro: Hello, may I speak to Goro San? Miura: Speaking. Taro: Ah, Miura-kun, how've you been? Miura: Ah, Taro-kun, I've been fine. Note -kun for friends speaking to one another. When Taro first calls, however, he doesn't want to presume he is speaking to Miura. Continued on next zephyrgram... . In close family relations, the suffix may be dropped depending on the relative relation. Mrs. Goro: Miura? Miura: Yes, o-ka-san? (mother-san) Chiyo: Oniisan? (older-brother-san) Miura: Yes, imooto? (younger-sister (no san)) etc. Sometimes, a brother around the same age might be on a friend-to-friend basis with him, in which case, he would say "Miura-kun" as above. (note, BTW, the kun attaches to the personal name). It sort of depends on the situation. He might also address him as Miura. It's sort of like in English, whether a child might call his father "Father", "Dad", "Daddy", "Pop", or whatever, depending on what the standard is in that particular household. A term of endearment is -chan, derived, I think, from how babies pronounce -san. It implies that one of the people is a young child, and could be classified as "baby-talk", if it weren't for actual words like "akachan" (baby), "okaa-chan" (mommy), etc. continued on next zgram... -sama is an honorific, used in the same way as -san, except it implies that the speaker has a great deal of respect for the person being referred to. It is often used in circumstances where the speaker is speaking that someone and the person is clearly above him in rank, or if he is trying to ask a big favor. servant: Excuse me, Goro-sama, your tea is ready. Miura: Thanks, servant. -sensei is used when the person is a teacher, a doctor, or anyone of great learning. This should be enough to get you started... Oh, and -kun can only be used between males. .