Carlos
カルロス
Karurosu
How It Is Said
- カka
- ルru
- ロro
- スsu
Karurosu: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish | カルロス | Karurosu | |
| Portuguese | カルロス | Karurosu |
What Happens to the Sounds
- Japanese has one sound where English has two, l and r: a light tap of the tongue, written ラ リ ル レ ロ. So the l and the r of Carlos sound alike: ル (ru), ロ (ro).
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final s takes a light vowel: ス (su).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type karurosu, 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 カルロス 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
