Charlie
チャーリー
Chārī
How It Is Said
- チャcha
- ーa
- リri
- ーi
Chārī: four beats, each about the same length. Japanese has no strong stress, so the name is said evenly, beat by beat.
What Happens to the Sounds
- An r after a vowel is not said in British English, and Japanese writes the vowel long instead: チャー (chā).
- Japanese has no l. It uses its one sound between l and r, a light tap of the tongue, written ラ リ ル レ ロ: リ (ri).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: チャ (cha).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type cha-ri- (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 チャーリー 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
