Anne
アン
An
How It Is Said
- アa
- ンn
An: two beats, each about the same length. Japanese has no strong stress, so the name is said evenly, beat by beat.
By Language
| Language | Katakana | Rōmaji | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | アン | An | |
| German | アンネ | Anne | |
| French | アンヌ | Annu | |
| Dutch | アンネ | Anne |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The double nn is one sound in English, so katakana writes it once: アン.
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
- In German and Dutch, a final e is said: ネ (ne); so in German and Dutch, Anne is アンネ (Anne).
- The final e is not said, but Japanese gives the sound before it a light vowel: ヌ (nu); so in French, Anne is アンヌ (Annu).
Anne of Green Gables is 赤毛のアン (Anne of the red hair) in Japanese, a much-loved book there; Anne Frank is アンネ・フランク, after the Dutch and German.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type ann (nn gives ン), then press F7 on Windows or Control+K on a Mac to turn it into katakana. On a phone, type the same letters with the Japanese keyboard and choose アン among the suggestions.
The Same Name in Other Languages
Why Katakana
In Japan, names from abroad are written in katakana, the script for words from other languages. Kanji versions of Western names are mostly invented, and a Japanese reader often sees odd meanings in them; the katakana is what a Japanese person would really write. More on katakana and names
