Sophie
ソフィー
Sofī
How It Is Said
- ソso
- フィfi
- ーi
Sofī: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | ソフィー | Sofī | |
| German | ゾフィー | Zofī | |
| French | ソフィー | Sofī | |
| Dutch | ソフィー | Sofī |
What Happens to the Sounds
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: フィー (fī).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: フィ (fi).
- In German, an s before a vowel is voiced, like a z: ゾ (zo); so in German, Sophie is ゾフィー (Zofī).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type sofi- (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 ソフィー 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
