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Category romanization

Variations in romanization systems

  • Sometimes "dzu" is used to romanize a tsu with a nigori or dakuten mark. This is used, for example, in the English name "adzuki" beans. In fact, though, the Japanese pronunciation of the word is identical to azuki
  • "n" before b or p sounds is sometimes written as "m" because of the change in pronunciation. For example, shinbun, newspaper, is often written as shimbun in rōmaji.
  • "ei" is usually written as "ee" and "ou" is usually written as "oo" because in fact they are pronounced in this way, that is there is no tongue movement between the two vowels. The version which is often used on newsgroups of prefering `ei' and `ou' to `ee' and `oo' is known as waapuro (word processor) rōmaji because although it is not phonetically accurate it is more suitable for entry into a word processor.

    • Long vowels

    OH SHI MIZU for ōshimizu on a vending machine

  • Sometimes the double vowel "oo" is written as "oh". This is quite common in Japanese people's names.
  • In romanizing outside textbooks it is common to drop Japanese double vowels. For example Tōkyō becomes "Tokyo", Kenkyūsha becomes "Kenkyusha". The apostrophe between syllabic n and a vowel is also dropped. See other romanization systems.

    • Particles

  • "wo", "ha" and "he" when they are used as particles are sometimes written "o", "wa" and "e", because this represents their pronunciation better. Note that "he" used as a particle is sometimes also written with the "e" kana in Japanese. (See kanavpron)
  • When romanizing Japanese, an "n" followed by a vowel, such as "n'o" should be distinguished from "no" by an apostrophe.
  • The ye in yen is an artifact. See archaic romanizations

    • Devoiced vowels

    Devoiced vowels are occasionally omitted, usually in romanization of names, such as the Yaskawa corporation.

    See also

  • Archaic romanizations - old-fashioned romanizations.
  • Other romanization systems - alternatives to the commoner systems.