Karen
カレン
Karen
How It Is Said
- カka
- レre
- ンn
Karen: 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 | カレン | Karen | |
| Danish | カーレン | Kāren | the usual form |
| カレン | Karen | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, like the quick t in an American "water": レ (re).
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
- In Danish, Karen is written カーレン (Kāren), closer to how it is said there.
Karen Blixen, who wrote Out of Africa, is カレン・ブリクセン in Japanese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type karenn (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 カレン 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
