Margaret
マーガレット
Māgaretto
How It Is Said
- マma
- ーa
- ガga
- レre
- ッt
- トto
Māgaretto: six 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
- An r after a vowel is not said in British English, and Japanese writes the vowel long instead: マー (mā).
- The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, like the quick t in an American "water": レ (re).
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final t takes a light vowel: ト (to).
- The small ッ is a short pause that doubles the next sound: ット (tto).
In Japan, マーガレット is also the name of the white marguerite daisy.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type ma-garetto (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 マーガレット 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
