Niels
ニールス
Nīrusu
Also written ニルス.
How It Is Said
- ニni
- ーi
- ルru
- スsu
Nīrusu: four 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Danish | ニールス | Nīrusu | the usual form |
| ニルス | Nirusu | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- Danish ie is a long i: ニー (nī).
- Japanese has no l. It uses its one sound between l and r, a light tap of the tongue, written ラ リ ル レ ロ: ル (ru).
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final s takes a light vowel: ス (su).
Niels Bohr is ニールス・ボーア in Japanese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type ni-rusu (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 ニールス 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
