Jeanne
ジャンヌ
Jannu
How It Is Said
- ジャja
- ンn
- ヌnu
Jannu: three beats, each about the same length. Japanese has no strong stress, so the name is said evenly, beat by beat.
What Happens to the Sounds
- The final e is not said, but Japanese gives the sound before it a light vowel: ヌ (nu).
- French j, and g before e or i, are soft, like the s of pleasure: ジ (ji).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ジャ (ja).
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
Joan of Arc is known in Japan by her French name, ジャンヌ・ダルク.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type jannnu (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 ジャンヌ 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
