David in Japanese

How It Is Said

1. デde
2. イi
3. ヴィvi
4. ッd
5. ドdo

Deividdo: five beats, each about the same length. Japanese has no strong stress, so the name is said evenly, beat by beat.

By Language

What Happens to the Sounds

• The English a of David is said ay, two beats in Japanese: エイ (ei).
• Japanese has no v. It is written ヴ (vu) and its row, ヴァ ヴィ ヴェ ヴォ, or more simply with the b row, バ ビ ブ ベ ボ: you will see both, デイヴィッド and デビッド.
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final d takes a light vowel: ド (do).
• The small ッ is a short pause that doubles the next sound: ッド (ddo).
• A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ヴィ (vi).
• At the end of a German name, d is said t: ト (to); so in German, David is ダーフィト (Dāfito).
• In French, David is written ダヴィッド (Daviddo), closer to how it is said there.
• In Spanish, v is said like b, so it is written with the b row: ビ (bi); so in Spanish, David is ダビド (Dabido).

To Type It

On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type deividdo, 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 デイヴィッド among the suggestions.

The Same Name in Other Languages

• Davide ダヴィデ