So I was reading 約束をされた場所で and I realized that despite practicing them for quite a bit, I can't read names for the life of me. Of course, there's rote memorization (exposure works with common names)...but I was wondering; given how common it is for unusual/original readings to pop up in names, as well as multiple readings for the same names (上田 can be both じょうだ and うえだ, to give an example）, how do Japanese people handle it? I'd assumed there'd be furigana/注 for the first time you encounter a name, especially a fictitious one. Do you just go with whatever reading sounds right until proven otherwise?
chamcham wrote:
Spreadsheet of the top 500 most common names in Japanese:
http://www.japanese-name-translation.co … _names.xls
If you want to make an Anki deck with real names, D-addicts has a comprehensive list of Japanese
actors, actresses, singer, producers, directors, and writers..
I actually have such a deck already, though it's low priority (so as to get accustomed to seeing names, and recognizing a couple, but I'm at a level where I should focus on more practical aspects for now). Thank you anyway ^^
But still, I don't know how much familiarity would help. Sure, the most X (hundreds? a thousand?) common names would be easy, but there's thousands of names out there. Especially in fiction, I figured it would make sense to aid the reader somewhat. As a foreigner I guess I'd be cut some slack IRL, but that goes for everything I think ^^'.
chamcham
Member
Registered: 2005-11-11
Posts: 1444
Zgarbas wrote:
chamcham wrote:
Spreadsheet of the top 500 most common names in Japanese:
http://www.japanese-name-translation.co … _names.xls
If you want to make an Anki deck with real names, D-addicts has a comprehensive list of Japanese
actors, actresses, singer, producers, directors, and writers..
I actually have such a deck already, though it's low priority (so as to get accustomed to seeing names, and recognizing a couple, but I'm at a level where I should focus on more practical aspects for now). Thank you anyway ^^
But still, I don't know how much familiarity would help. Sure, the most X (hundreds? a thousand?) common names would be easy, but there's thousands of names out there. Especially in fiction, I figured it would make sense to aid the reader somewhat. As a foreigner I guess I'd be cut some slack IRL, but that goes for everything I think ^^'.
Not sure if you looked at the spreadsheet. But it lists many readings for a given kanji name. So for 上田, it has "Ageda,Ueda,Kamida,Jouda". And they are all acceptable names.
The list is actually based on the frequency of names of people in 70% of the households in Japan. So they do match well with reality. They even have an extended list of the top 10,000 names using data that is current up to 2012.
The most common surname (佐藤) is used in 474,558 households.
The rarest (帷子) is used in only 183 households.
I would say that common names would be a good first start.
Then, just pick up rare names as you see them.
In addition, even if you're using the wrong name while reading a novel, as long as you're consistent, it's not a problem. Japanese love ambiguity.
Also, if the book is popular enough, search some websites and try to find the characters names.
