Arthur
アーサー
Āsā
How It Is Said
- アa
- ーa
- サsa
- ーa
Āsā: four 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 | アーサー | Āsā | |
| French | アルチュール | Aruchūru | the usual form |
| アルテュール | Arutyūru | also in use | |
| Portuguese | アルトゥール | Arutūru |
What Happens to the Sounds
- Japanese has no th; it is written with the s row, サ シ ス セ ソ: サ (sa).
- The English ending -ur is written サー (sā): Japanese follows the British way of saying it, with no r.
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: アー (ā).
- French u is said with rounded lips, between i and u; Japanese writes it with a small ュ: アルチュール; so in French, Arthur is アルチュール (Aruchūru).
- In Portuguese, an r before a consonant is said, so it is written ル (ru): アルトゥール; so in Portuguese, Arthur is アルトゥール (Arutūru).
King Arthur is アーサー王 in Japanese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type a-sa- (the - key gives the bar ー), 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 アーサー among the suggestions.
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
