Charlotte
シャーロット
Shārotto
How It Is Said
- シャsha
- ーa
- ロro
- ッt
- トto
Shārotto: five 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 | シャーロット | Shārotto | |
| German | シャルロッテ | Sharurotte | |
| French | シャルロット | Sharurotto |
What Happens to the Sounds
- An r after a vowel is not said in British English, and Japanese writes the vowel long instead: シャー (shā).
- 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: ロ (ro).
- The small ッ is a short pause that doubles the next sound: ット (tto).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: シャ (sha).
- In German, a final e is said: テ (te); so in German, Charlotte is シャルロッテ (Sharurotte).
- The final e is not said, but Japanese gives the sound before it a light vowel: ト (to); so in French, Charlotte is シャルロット (Sharurotto).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type sha-rotto (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 シャーロット 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
