10.2. How can I read a Japanese name?

Bizarre though it might seem, Japanese people cannot always certainly read each other's names when they are written in kanji. Although family names are usually simple, there are many which have unusual pronunciations. Given names may be easy to read or they may be almost impossible to read.

For example, the kanji name 長田 may be read nagada or nagata.

TO DO #52: priority: low: Say something about rendaku. Wikipedia entry has lots of stuff about it.

TO DO #53: priority: low: Add some examples of names with various readings.

nanori (名乗り) are readings of the kanji only used in names.

TO DO #54: priority: low: Add more about nanori

Online, Jim Breen's "enamdict" is an extremely large compendium of Japanese names.

The book Japanese names by P.G. O'Neill may also be helpful in trying to work out a name.

Please be warned that some kanji writings of names may have several ways of pronunciation. In the end the only way to be sure of the reading of someone's name is to ask the person.

Questions? Corrections? Comments? Contact: benkasminbullock@gmail.com