Ville
ヴィッレ
Virre
Also written ビッレ and ヴィレ.
How It Is Said
- ヴィvi
- ッr
- レre
Virre: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Finnish | ヴィッレ | Virre | the usual form |
| ビッレ | Birre | also in use | |
| ヴィレ | Vire | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- Finnish double consonants are held; Japanese writes this with a small ッ: ッレ (rre).
- Japanese has no v. It is written ヴ (vu) and its row, ヴァ ヴィ ヴェ ヴォ, or more simply with the b row, バ ビ ブ ベ ボ: you will see both, ヴィッレ and ビッレ.
- 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: レ (re).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ヴィ (vi).
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type virre, 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 ヴィッレ 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
