Samuel
サミュエル
Samyueru
How It Is Said
- サsa
- ミュmyu
- エe
- ルru
Samyueru: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | サミュエル | Samyueru | |
| Portuguese | サムエル | Samueru |
What Happens to the Sounds
- 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).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ミュ (myu).
- In Portuguese, Samuel is written サムエル (Samueru), closer to how it is said there.
The prophet Samuel is サムエル (Samueru) in the Japanese Bible, as the name is in Portuguese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type samyueru, 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 サミュエル 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
