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Quick example of how your name will be translated into
Japanese: KATAKANA The
standard way to translate all foreign names is to use
characters called Katakana. There is only one
possible pronunciation for each Katakana character and
your name will be immediately readable.
Example:
| Name: |
Monica |
Robert |
|
Katakana |
 |
 |
| Pronunciation |
mo ni ka |
ro ba - to |
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KANJI
Technically foreign names are not meant to be translated into
Kanji, but it can be interesting and lots of fun. The difficulty with Kanji is
that each character can be pronounced in many different ways. We match
the phonetic sound of your name to kanji, however since the final name consists
of a series of Kanji that can all be pronounced in different ways, the average
Japanese may not be able to read your name right away. After you say your
name, it may become clear to them.
The series of Kanji assigned to the above name Monica were chosen
from an overwhelming choice of kanji listed below. The
final name was chosen based on the meaning of each
individual characters and the look of the final name.
To
make matters more confusing, in addition to the many different Kanji
possibilities for each sound, each Kanji can also be pronounced many different
ways. For example, the kanji used for the name Monica and Robert can also be
pronounced as follows:
Kanji Meaning and Pronunciations:
| Monica |
| Kanji |
Meaning |
Possible Sounds |
 |
luxuriant |
mo, shige |
 |
nun |
ni, ama, am |
 |
Flower |
ka, hana |
| Robert |
| Kanji |
Meaning |
Possible Sounds |
 |
path |
ro, michi, ji |
 |
horse |
ba, uma, ma |
 |
Asia |
a, tsu |
 |
metropolis |
to, miyako, kuni, miya |
Needless to say, it can be quite a task to translate
your name into this complex language. Due to the various
explained factors, your name may not be immediately
readable, however once you say your name the pronunciation
of the characters will be come clear. Remember, if
you want your name to be immediately readable, please
stick with standard katakana.
Return to the hanko order
page by clicking HERE.
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