How Do You Write Your Name in Japanese?
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, a syllabary used for words from other languages. Every katakana stands for a syllable, so a name is written by how it sounds rather than how it is spelled: Emma is エマ (Ema), Michael is マイケル (Maikeru) and Smith is スミス (Sumisu). First and last name keep the Western order and are separated by a middle dot (・).
How to Use It
- Type your name: first and last name, or only a first name.
- Press Translate: you get the katakana, the rōmaji (Latin letters) and each word on its own.
- Listen to it with a Japanese voice, copy it, save it or download it as an image.
Why Does My Name Look Longer?
Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン (n), so a consonant on its own gets an extra vowel: Smith becomes su-mi-su. Long vowels are written with a dash (ー): Lee becomes リー (Rī). L becomes R, because Japanese has one sound for both. That is why the same name can have more than one spelling; names marked Standard spelling use the form found in dictionaries and the press.
Vietnamese Names in Japanese
Vietnamese names are written by their Vietnamese pronunciation, as Japanese newspapers do: Nguyễn グエン, Trần チャン, Phạm ファム, Thị ティ.
See your name in Chinese and Korean too, or style it with the stylish name generator.