Do you change your name when you move to Japan?

When becoming a Japanese citizen, you have to put down a Japanese name on the official documentation. Most Westerners will simply adapt their name to katakana, but some Chinese and Korean applicants will use the Japanese pronunciations of the characters in their names if it’s possible and makes sense.

Can a Japanese person have a Chinese name?

There are similar names but there are no same original Japanese and original Chinese names in both languages. Any name that is in Japanese Kanji can be pronounced in Chinese. It cannot work the other way as there are some words in Hanzi that don’t exist in Japanese.

Can I name myself a Japanese name?

It would be fine, it might be a bit weird depending on what name you pick. When you become a Japanese citizen, you can use a “Japanese stylized” name (kind of like a nickname that you can officially use). Edit: Actually, turns out that you can only use a Japanese name when you become a Japanese citizen.

What comes first in Japanese names?

Name order In Japan, like in China and Korea, the first name follows the family name. A person with the first name “Ichiro” and the family name “Suzuki” is, therefore, called “Suzuki Ichiro” rather than “Ichiro Suzuki”.

How did China and Korea get their names before katakana?

Well China and Korea’s name was created before Katakana was a thing. You see Japanese originally was all Kanji, but the educated men back then broke it down into 3 languages which became Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. There was actually a dead language/cant spoken by the housewives of these men known as 母語　（ぼご）.

How do you write your name in Japanese with katakana?

Katakana Chart. To write your name in Japanese, the easiest way is to find a Katakana letter that corresponds to the pronunciation of your Japanese name. For example, if your name is “Maria,” look for the Katakana character for Ma, which is マ, then the character for Ri, which is リ, and then character for A, which is ア.

How are Japanese names spoken?

Japanese actually has 3 alphabets – Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. While Japanese names are written in Kanji, foreign names are written in Katakana. Foreign names are typically spelled out with katakana to make them match phonetically with Japanese. Andrew becomes Andoryuu ( アンドリュー), Brad becomes Buraddo (ブラッド), and Carly becomes Kaarii (カーリー).

What is the Japanese naming system like?

Another important thing to note is that in Japan, a baby is given an informal name six days after the birth. When the child turns 16, he’s given a formal name, carried out in a proper naming ceremony.