James
ジェームズ
Jēmuzu
Also written ジェイムズ and ジェームス.
How It Is Said
- ジェje
- ーe
- ムmu
- ズzu
Jēmuzu: four 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 | ジェームズ | Jēmuzu | the usual form |
| ジェイムズ | Jeimuzu | also in use | |
| ジェームス | Jēmusu | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The English a of James is said ay: written エイ (ei) or エー (ē), so both ジェイムズ and ジェームズ are in use.
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final s takes a light vowel: ズ (zu).
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: ジェー (jē).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ジェ (je).
James Curtis Hepburn, whose way of writing Japanese in Latin letters gives the readings on these pages, is ヘボン (Hebon) in Japanese: that is how his surname was heard.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type je-muzu (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 ジェームズ 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
