Jean
ジーン
Jīn
How It Is Said
- ジji
- ーi
- ンn
Jīn: three 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 | ジーン | Jīn | |
| French | ジャン | Jan |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: ジー (jī).
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
- French nasal vowels are written with ン (n): ジャン; so in French, Jean is ジャン (Jan).
Jean Valjean of Les Misérables is ジャン・ヴァルジャン in Japanese; the English name Jean is ジーン.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type ji-nn (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 ジーン 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
