Jean-Pierre
ジャン＝ピエール
Jan-Piēru
Also written ジャン・ピエール.
How It Is Said
- ジャja
- ンn
- ピpi
- エe
- ーe
- ルru
Jan-Piēru: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| French | ジャン＝ピエール | Jan-Piēru | the usual form |
| ジャン・ピエール | Jan Piēru | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The final e is not said, but Japanese gives the sound before it a light vowel: ル (ru).
- French nasal vowels are written with ン (n): ジャン＝ピエール.
- French j, and g before e or i, are soft, like the s of pleasure: ジ (ji).
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: エー (ē).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ジャ (ja).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type jann pie-ru (the - key gives the bar ー and 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 ジャン＝ピエール among the suggestions.
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
