Writing Your Name in Japanese 
This lesson is going to be a bit short, seeing as we will be covering only one topic.

As we learned in Lesson 5 words spelled in katakana are words that are not from Japanese origin. This includes your name (if you don't have a Japanese name, obviously). Hajimemashou ka? 

Japanese Pronounciation:
The pronounciation of Japanese vowels is like that of Spanish or French, consonants are pronounced as those in English.

Vowels: 
 

  • a as in father or arm 
  • e as in pen or red 
  • i as in ink or machine 
  • o as in open or ocean 
  • u as in true or cruel 

    • Vowel Combinations: 
     

  • ei as in day
  • ai as in alive 
  • ou as in float 
  • au as in out 
    		•
    Katakana

    Katakana 
    Learn to pronounce your name before you write it. 

    If you took the katakana quiz in lesson 5 you may have noticed that most of the words have been exagerated (ex.neifu=knife). This is what you must do to your
    name in order to translate it. For example, my name is Lani (pronounced lay-nee) So my job is to break down the sounds of my name into parts. First, my name begins with an L and as you see in the chart, there are no L's. So I begin my name with an R (L and R sounds are interchangeable in Japanese, much like B and V in Spanish. B and V for that matter, are also interchangeable.) Ok. so I have Re (Lay) then we add the "ni" part, which is quite simple, just add ni, and you're done! Everyone's name isnt going to be that simple. The simplest names are often the most complicated. 
    I know this isn't simple, especially for a casual course, such as this, but maybe it will help you understand the language a little better. It took me a couple of months before I understood how to translate Japanese words into Katakana and I don't expect you to know how right now. If you want, I'll even traslate your name for you and send it to you via e-mail. 

    Here are some examples:
    Jessie: JI-E-SHI 
    Cathy: KA-A-SHI
    Aaron: A-RO-N
    Betty: BE-TE-I
    Thomas: TO-MA-SU

    Some helpful hints:
    IE=SHI
    ending in Y=TE-I
    TH sound=SHI
    After you have translated your name, you can add an honorific title and be done.
    Have a look at the list of titles.
    Note: Remember to NEVER attach these titles to your own name when speaking to someone, not even when you are only stating your last name. 
  • Correct: Watashi wa Reinie desu. 
  • Incorrect: Watashi wa Reinie-san desu. 
    		•

    Next: Lesson7: Asking Someone Out ^_^