One of the first things you need to know when learning Japanese is your name. As well as allowing you to become more personal with the language, it also gives you an identity in Japanese. Unfortunately, people are sometimes confused about how to write their names in Japanese. In this article, we’ll see which way is the correct one to write your name in Japanese.
It is possible for some foreigners to have kanji names, but these are extremely rare. In Chinese and Korean languages, kanji is used in some way or another, so some Chinese and Korean names can use kanji.
Those who are unfamiliar with Japanese may not know that katakana is one of the Japanese alphabets, which is used to write foreign names in Japanese. The advantage of writing foreign names in Japanese using katakana is that a Japanese person can easily read or pronounce it, and they will recognize it as foreign on sight. In addition, if you have a fairly common name, you’ll find that most Japanese people know how to write your name in katakana. Your name would be written in katakana because you are not Japanese.
To continue our example with the English single-syllable word “James”, let’s revisit the previous example. When Japanese is written, there are three syllables. The word can be pronounced in several different ways. Here is how you pronounce the syllables:
Stephanie (Su te fa ni –) ステファニー
Jack (Ja kku) ジャック
Lisa (Ri sa) リサ
Harry (Ha ri –) ハリー
Katakana Chart
Japanese Name Generator (Make your name in Japanese)
Below we have provided links to some katakana name generators you can use to learn how to write your name in Japanese:
How many ways are there to say my name is in Japanese?
One of the best things about learning a new language is meeting new people. When you learn Japanese, you can connect with over a hundred million new people! To learn how to introduce yourself, we will cover today how to say ‘my name is’ in Japanese.
My Name Is …
Japanese has a couple of words to describe your name. A Japanese word for “I” is combined with the particle の (no) to create the word “my”.
Because it’s a polite word you can use in almost all situations, we’ll use わたしの (watashi no) for “my”.
When we use the word “name” (namae) in conjunction with the は (wa) prefix to identify the topic of discussion, the prefix becomes a verbal marker.
The last part is our name followed by です (desu) representing “is” in English.
It is written as follows:
わたしのなまえはクリサダです。
watashi no namae wa Krisada desu.
My name is Krisada.
I Am Called …
Another way to introduce yourself is by saying the Japanese equivalent to “I am calling…” In spite of the fact that this is an upsetting phrase to some English speakers, this is the way Japanese people introduce themselves.
It is actually possible to use this phrase in three different ways, depending on the level of formality. The most formal approach will be taken first, and then the more casual.
クリサダと申します。
Krisada to moushi masu.
I am called Krisada.
(mousu) is considered respectful in Japanese language when it is used in combination with your name. By using the masu-form, it is even more polite.
I Am …
The same phrases are used in English as well, as you no doubt realized.
It is rare that we say “I am Krisada ” more often than “I am named Krisada “, but sometimes we do. In English, it is fairly straightforward to introduce yourself as Krisada.
In Japanese, it’s the same.I’ll keep this brief.
クリサダです。
Krisada desu.
I’m Krisada.
Name First: How to Address A Company
It is usually polite to mention your company name first, then your own name, when introducing yourself in Japanese.
本田工業の楢崎です。
Honda Kougyou no narasaki desu.
I’m Narasaki from Honda Motors.
Japanese culture places greater importance on the group than on the individual, so this is common practice.
Thus, you should introduce the organization (or group) to which you belong before your own. Also, your title within the company or department can be introduced before your own name if you are in a managerial position.
If you are representing your company when you are meeting someone, you should put their name before yours when introducing yourself.