Hi everyone,

I'm trying to translate my name into Japanese using kanji, but I've heard that there are two methods - Literal and Phonetic translations. My situation is that either would work fine, since in it's original language my name means "worth having" which I think can be translated easily, but the anglicized version "Tony" is very few syllables in total, so would also translate phonetically.

Which would you suggest I choose? And if literal, can you help me with a good name translation?

Tony (636 漢字 and counting...)

You cannot phonetically translate your name from kanji. A lot of tattoo shops have a bullshit 'kanji abc chart' that is nothing but gibberish so be sure to watch out for that.

I'm interested in knowing how this works.

I thought if your name doesn't 'mean' anything you could only katakana it. Or do you mean it like, for example my name (niko) originates from greek nikodemus(or something close) which means "victory of the people"... And then turn that into kanji? The spelling would completely change? Would that even sound like a proper name to Japanese?

Betelgeuzah Wrote:I'm interested in knowing how this works.

I thought if your name doesn't 'mean' anything you could only katakana it. Or do you mean it like, for example my name (niko) originates from greek nikodemus(or something close) which means "victory of the people"... And then turn that into kanji? The spelling would completely change? Would that even sound like a proper name to Japanese?

I've seen a book using this sort of method, and you end up with absolutely ridiculous results like 保護者. A lot of Japanese people don't have kanji for their names, so I don't know why people try to do this in an age where katakana is considered cool. To each their own, though.

eldiablov Wrote:You cannot phonetically translate your name from kanji. A lot of tattoo shops have a bullshit 'kanji abc chart' that is nothing but gibberish so be sure to watch out for that.

So even if the kanji have readings that resemble the name, like 都新 in my case (I have no idea what those mean though); that can't be used to translate names?

It is grammatically and socially expected to spell a foreign name like Tony with katakana and not kanji. It wont seem clever or cool to use kanji, just weird.

I know it sucks, I would quite like to use kanji as well.

lardycake Wrote:It is grammatically and socially expected to spell a foreign name like Tony with katakana and not kanji. It wont seem clever or cool to use kanji, just weird.

I know it sucks, I would quite like to use kanji as well.

Ok, thanks for clarifying!

Some names can have unwanted nuances though? Like niko which ends in -ko which is normal for girl's names to end in?

However if last name actually means something (like mine directly translates into 'small valley'), I could use 'kotani' as my last name? It looks dumb in katakana.

You -can- phonetically transliterate your name in Kanji. First you need to put it in kana, and then you apply ateji characters to the kana and you have a name.

I read someone's story once of turning his name into kanji by meaning - he was registering a hanko and I believe you have to have a kanji name for legal purposes when you do that. So he took the meaning of his name and used that as the kanji, and kept the usual kana pronunciation of his name of course, creating a totally irregular reading.

No matter what you do, it's all vanity anyway - you're simply going to be known by your kana name if you're a foreigner. I'm not living in Japan so I don't know the details, but I gather you do need a kanji name for certain legal documents of the sort that won't affect you unless you become a permanent resident. Obviously signatures are accepted for most ordinary contracts.

Speaking of names, do Chinese people who move to Japan usually keep their names in Kanji?

SomeCallMeChris Wrote:You -can- phonetically transliterate your name in Kanji. First you need to put it in kana, and then you apply ateji characters to the kana and you have a name.

There's a website that can do it for you here. It works out the Japanese pronunciation of your name and then gives you a list of jouyou and jinmei kanji that can used. Even if it's not very useful it's still fun

[Katsuo]

I was once the only foreigner working in a Tokyo office where everybody had their own mug complete with name tag. They gave me one with my name spelt phonetically in kanji, and thought that to be quite amusing. The hanko they gave me however was in katakana.

There is a book on this topic "Write your name in kanji" by Nobuo Sato.

"Tony" is one of the names that appears in the book, but not in the free sample. One suggestion for Anthony, by the way, is 杏吐児 = a child that vomits apricots.

Katsuo Wrote:I was once the only foreigner working in a Tokyo office where everybody had their own mug complete with name tag. They gave me one with my name spelt phonetically in kanji, and thought that to be quite amusing. The hanko they gave me however was in katakana.

There is a book on this topic "Write your name in kanji" by Nobuo Sato.

"Tony" is one of the names that appears in the book, but not in the free sample. One suggestion for Anthony, by the way, is 杏吐児 = a child that vomits apricots.

cool name, cool story and cool use of the kanji haha

That site is great. I wonder if they would find it funny if I wrote my name as 尼虎.

DevvaR Wrote:Speaking of names, do Chinese people who move to Japan usually keep their names in Kanji?

From what I've seen yes, but they do it weird. They use the Chinese characters, but use the Japanese phonetics for them. but then write them in katakana.. or at least that's true for all the Chinese students I met in Japan.
One girls Chinese name when put into Japanese came out as Okaasan. Quite amusing hearing teachers say it out loud.

You could do what the Chinese do when they move to the West: just pick a completely new Japanese name, complete with kanji.

SomeCallMeChris Wrote:I read someone's story once of turning his name into kanji by meaning - he was registering a hanko and I believe you have to have a kanji name for legal purposes when you do that. So he took the meaning of his name and used that as the kanji, and kept the usual kana pronunciation of his name of course, creating a totally irregular reading.

No matter what you do, it's all vanity anyway - you're simply going to be known by your kana name if you're a foreigner. I'm not living in Japan so I don't know the details, but I gather you do need a kanji name for certain legal documents of the sort that won't affect you unless you become a permanent resident. Obviously signatures are accepted for most ordinary contracts.

You don't have to have kanji for legal purposes. Even some Japanese don't have kanji for their first name. However, some foreigners will choose to write their name (phonetically not by meaning though I suppose you could do that too) in kanji on their hanko simply because it is cheaper. Most places will give you four "characters" for one set price and anything more than that you have to pay extra for, so if your name is really long in katakana, you might try to use kanji to get the number down.

And, though signatures are becoming more widely accepted for both Japanese and foreigners, you will still need a hanko for a lot of things that have nothing to do with your residency status. You will need a hanko for anything that you sign up for; a bank account, credit card, internet, cable, renting an apartment, etc. Though some places will accept a signature if you are foreign, it is still generally easier to have a hanko on hand.

There was a previous thread about this -- the short version is that picking a new Japanese name or inventing kanji for your own name will both come off as very strange to Japanese people. You will have a hard time getting them to take you seriously. Having kanji for your name is OK for fun, but for serious uses just stick to katakana.

By all means have fun finding kanji for your name (it makes an interesting talking point) but as others have pointed out, keep expecting to use katakana in any official documents.

When I lived in Japan, people who had Japanese names but were non-Japanese (ie people of Japanese ancestry from counties outside Japan, and foreigners who had married Japanese and taken their wives family name) found the original kanji rendered in katakana.

I don't know if this happened to women with Japanese husbands. Maybe someone can enlighten us.

If you get Japanese citizenship then I believe you get both an official Japanese name and the kanji to go with it (You also have to trade in your prior citizenship however)

Some especially common western names (like mine) have somewhat established kanji. 麻郁 is Mike for example (it's even in ENAMDIC). I don't use it, though if I eventually get married in Japan I'd probably take my wife's last name as it will make it easier for kids (and I won't go for separate last names).

That said, kanjifying names from non-Chinese character regions is obsolete and no one will be able to read it without you explaining it. You will also look like a giant dork. Don't bother.

You don't need to use kanji when registering a hanko (mine is a combination of katakana and alphabet) or even if you change citizenship (though you can if you want to). You cannot have kanji on your gaijin card and some other official documents unless that is your legal name in your country of citizenship. You can apparently register an alias and use it for things such as your bills, but be prepared for a fight as it is not the name on your passport and it will only be a footnote on your gaijin card. Gaijin cards are going away this year so I don't know what it'll be like on the new system.

Harpagornes Wrote:I don't know if this happened to women with Japanese husbands. Maybe someone can enlighten us.

My first name is always in katakana and last name is in kanji. I'm surprised that foreign men who took their Japanese wives' names would have it written in katakana since the wife's name registered on the koseki would be in kanji.

@thistime
This was during the late 1980s...

At that time I always thought it was because the men had taken up residency (through marriage) but had not received citizenship as that would mean renouncing their original !nationality. I wasn't privy to their precise legal status, and never saw the koseki so I don"t know how they were recorded. I seem to remember marriage laws for men and women vis Japanese nationals being somewhat asymmetric at the time.

EDIT: Now I am completely curious and wonder what happened to their children's names.


@Jarvick7
I stand corrected... Citizenship used to require forfeiting ones original name and accepting an approved Japanese one but this no longer the case.

From Wikipedia:

Quote:For many years naturalized citizens were required to adopt a Japanese family name. This requirement was abolished in the late 1980s. A well-known example of someone who did not adopt a Japanese name is Masayoshi Son, the wealthiest man in Japan as of 2007, who naturalized using his Korean family name rather than the Japanese family name he used during his youth.
Ref: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_nationality_law

I would choose 登新 for Tony.

This could be spelt トニーin katakana.

I have kanji for my name -- 助守亜.