Sigrid
シーグリッド
Shīguriddo
Also written シグリッド.
How It Is Said
- シshi
- ーi
- グgu
- リri
- ッd
- ドdo
Shīguriddo: six 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Swedish | シーグリッド | Shīguriddo | the usual form |
| シグリッド | Shiguriddo | also in use | |
| Norwegian | シーグリ | Shīguri | the usual form |
| シグリッド | Shiguriddo | 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": リ (ri).
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final d takes a light vowel: ド (do).
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: シー (shī).
- The small ッ is a short pause that doubles the next sound: ッド (ddo).
- In Norwegian, Sigrid is written シーグリ (Shīguri), closer to how it is said there.
The Norwegian novelist Sigrid Undset is シグリ・ウンセット in Japanese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type shi-guriddo (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 シーグリッド 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
