Francisco
フランシスコ
Furanshisuko
How It Is Said
- フfu
- ラra
- ンn
- シshi
- スsu
- コko
Furanshisuko: six 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 | フランシスコ | Furanshisuko | |
| Portuguese | フランシスコ | Furanshisuko |
What Happens to the Sounds
- In Spanish, z and c before e or i are said s in Latin America (th in much of Spain); Japanese writes them with the s row: フランシスコ.
- The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, like the quick t in an American "water": ラ (ra).
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
Saint Francis Xavier, who reached Japan in 1549, is フランシスコ・ザビエル in every Japanese history book, after the Spanish and Portuguese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type furannshisuko (nn gives ン), 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 フランシスコ 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
