Writing your name in katakana

The principle — every consonant carries a vowel

Each kana is one consonant plus one vowel. So the first step is breaking your name into units that fit that shape.

Take "Chris". English packs three consonants together — k-r-i-s — but Japanese cannot. Each stranded consonant has to borrow a vowel, which is why it comes out as クリス (ku-ri-su), three kana.

This is why English names get longer in katakana. Every consonant that has no vowel of its own gets given one.

The vowel borrowed is usually u, because it is the weakest. After t and d it is o instead: "Bret" becomes ブレット, not ブレツト.

Vowel mapping

Japanese has only five vowels, so several English vowels collapse into one.

Long vowels take the ー mark: Mark is マーク, not マク. Dropping it changes the rhythm and can change the word.

Consonants with no vowel

A consonant at the end of a word, or stacked against another, is given a vowel of its own.

Only -n escapes without a vowel, because ン is the one kana that has none. It also shifts toward n, m or ng depending on what follows, so you never have to choose.

Common traps

• L and R are the same in Japanese. Both go to the ラ row, so "Laura" and "Rola" end up close together.
• V usually becomes the バ row. "Victor" is ビクター far more often than ヴィクター.
• TH has no equivalent. "Smith" becomes スミス, with s.
• Double letters in spelling do not mean a double sound. "Bill" is ビル, not ビッル — the ッ marks a real pause, not a spelling quirk.
• A dot (・) separates first and last names: John Smith → ジョン・スミス.

Worked examples

There is rarely one correct answer. If you already use a spelling — on a business card or a visa — that one wins. The table shows common practice, not a rule.