Whats your name in Japanese translation?

Ah, finding out your Japanese name is magical, isnt it?

Its the rite of passage for any new learner.

The second you start learning the language, you want to know how to write and say your name in Japanese. I hope, by this time, you already know your Katakana. If not you

Ah, screw it.

Ill show you anyway. (But you should really learn Katakana here.)

Want to know what your name is in Japanese?

• If youre just lazy, just LOOK BELOW for the list of common translated names.
• If youre ambitious scroll all the WAY DOWNand theguide. Itll take 3 or 4 minutes and youll be ready to use your Japanese name.

Also, be sure to leave a comment and say what your Japanese name is for practice!

Katakana Chart. Youll Need This for Your Name in Japanese.

Just so you know

Your name will be written in Katakana. All foreign words and names are written in this writing system. Belows a quick run through of the Katakana (alphabet).

To make it easier, and so you can double-check your work, here are some common names translated into Japanese.

Common English Names Translated To Japanese For Lazy People

If I dont have yours, leave a comment below and I will add it!

So, hopefully I got your Japanese name in there. Now, you can start speaking basic Japanese and go introduce yourself as

• • Hajimemashite, watashi no namae wa (name) desu.
  • はじめまして。私の名前は(name)です。
  • Nice to meet you. My name is (name).

Or you can just say the more casual way.

• • (name) desu.
  • (name)です。
  • Im (name).

If you got your name right, be sure to leave a comment and introduce yourself. If I missed your name, also leave a comment and well get one for you! And now that you know your name and can introduce yourself, you should learn even more Japanese!

What is my name in Japanese? How to translate your name.

First, there are 9 rules that you need to know about finding out your Japanese name.

Dont worry, theyre not scary. Youll be fine after reading them.

And if youre still confused, just leave a comment.

Or proceed to the list below if now youre feeling lazy.

1. It must be written in Katakana as its a foreign name. Katakana is merely a version of the Japanese alphabet dedicated to foreign words that were adopted by Japanese.
2. The spelling WILL depend on how you pronounce your name.Lets say you have an uncommon name that may not sound how its spelled. For example, your name is Böb but its not pronounced as Bob but Beaub. Well, if you want most of your desired pronunciation to cross over into Japanese, you will need to go by sounds or phonetics. So, you wont be a Bobu ボブ but perhaps バーブ.
   1. If you check the comments where people ask about their names, often the first question is well, how do you pronounce that?
3. There is no L. L becomes R. Sorry Larry, Linda, and Luke. Your names will start with the letter R from now on. Theres no L in the Japanese language and Japanese R is pretty unique, similar to the Russian/Spanish/Italian R where you slightly roll your tongue. So Larry, you are pretty much Rarry.
4. There is no V. V becomes B. Sorry Vicky, youre now Bikki.
5. The Japanese Alphabet follows the this sound pattern. Youll get a good idea of it after taking a look at the character chart below.
   1. Pronunciation: Ah (written as A)
   2. Pronunciation: Ee (written as I)
   3. Pronunciation: Oo (written as U)
   4. Pronunciation: Eh (Written as E)
   5. Pronunciation: Oh (Written as O)
      1. So, of course, there will be ka, ki, ku, ke, ko and sa, shi, su, se, so and so on.
6. Most Japanese letters actually consist if 1 consonant and 1 vowel OR just 1 vowel.
   1. So, Ka is considered as one letter. So is A. And De.
   2. What does this mean? It means 2 things. If you have
      1. Two consecutive consonants in your name like Fr in Fred or Gl in Glen, those two will now have vowels after the consonants. So, the Fr in Fred becomes Fure and the Gl in Glen becomes Gure.
         1. Rule:In two consecutive consonants, the first one follows an U sound. The second one will follow the vowel thats already in your name.
      2. Or if your name ends in a consonant, like D in Ted, then that last consonant is doubled up and ends in an O or U. Ted actually becomes Teddo. Fred becomes Fureddo.
         1. This rule does not apply to names ending in N. N in Japanese is the only consonant can be counted as 1 letter. So, our friend Glen is Guren.
         2. This rule does not apply to names ending in Y. So, Ray becomes Rei. The letter I (イ) acts as that iy sound.
         3. Names ending in K, M or X take on the U ending. Jim is Jimu. Hank is Hanku. Sam is Samu. Max is Makkusu. Mark is Ma-ku.
7. Japanese letters are pronounced with equal stress and time, unless noted by an elongation. Take the word camera. In English, camera is pronounced as Caaamura, right? Theres quite a bit of stress on the Caaaaa. In Japanese however, it is ka-me-ra where each letter, ka, me and ra, are said for equal amounts of time. This will help you understand rule #7 below.
8. If a vowel in your name sounds like it receives stress, it will be an elongated vowel in Japanese. What do I mean? Take the name Mary or Gary for example. Theres quite a bit of emphasis on the letter A. It almost sounds like its pronounced as Maaary where the inflection on the A goes up. Same with Gary. In Japanese, these will become Me-ri and Ge-ri
9. The Ya, Yu, Yo Sounds. Basically, any I sound, like Ki, Gi, Mi, Ji etc. can be combined with the Ya, Yu, Yo letters of a smaller version to produce sounds like
   1. Gi: Gya, Gyu, Gyo
   2. Ji: Ja, Ju, Jo
   3. Ri: Rya, Ryu, Ryo
   4. And so, on. Youll see more of these in the chart below.

Ok, now youre ready to learn your Japanese name.

Below is a chart of the Katakana letters, providing you with the English first, Japanese character underneath, to help you find the character for your name. Heres how you figure out your name:

• • Step 1: Refer to rule #4 for the proper pronunciation of A, I, U, E, O.
  • Step 2: If your name starts with a consonant and vowel, look for the ones that match you.
    • Mary will start with Me- or メー
    • Kevin will start with Ke or ケ
  • Or similary, if your name starts with a vowel, chose A, I, U, E, or O, depending on how your name sounds.
  • Step 3: Then piece your name together. Look for the next sound.
    • Mary will start with Me- or メー, and then we need Ri so find that character, リ, and add it in: メーリ
    • Kevin will start with Ke or ケ, and then we need Bi (remember no V in Japanese) and N. So, find Bi and N and you have Kebin or ケビン.
  • Step 4: Feeling lazy? Scroll down below this chart where Ive translated common English names into Japanese.

The Junkie

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