Ruben
ルベン
Ruben
How It Is Said
- ルru
- ベbe
- ンn
Ruben: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spanish (Rubén) | ルベン | Ruben | |
| Dutch | リューベン | Ryūben | the usual form |
| ルーベン | Rūben | 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": ル (ru).
- ン is a humming n, and it counts as a beat of its own.
- In Dutch, Ruben is written リューベン (Ryūben), closer to how it is said there.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type rubenn (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 ルベン among the suggestions.
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
