Friedrich
フリードリヒ
Furīdorihi
Also written フリードリッヒ.
How It Is Said
- フfu
- リri
- ーi
- ドdo
- リri
- ヒhi
Furīdorihi: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | フリードリヒ | Furīdorihi | the usual form |
| フリードリッヒ | Furīdorihhi | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The German ch is a breath in the throat: written ヒ (hi) after e or i, and ハ, ホ or フ after a, o or u.
- German ie is a long i: リー (rī).
- The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, like the quick t in an American "water": リ (ri).
Frederick the Great is フリードリヒ大王 in Japanese; the philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche is フリードリヒ・ニーチェ.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type furi-dorihi (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 フリードリヒ 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
