Vítor
ヴィトール
Vitōru
Also written ビトール.
How It Is Said
- ヴィvi
- トto
- ーo
- ルru
Vitōru: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portuguese | ヴィトール | Vitōru | the usual form |
| ビトール | Bitōru | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- 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, ヴィトール and ビトール.
- The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, like the quick t in an American "water": ル (ru).
- The bar ー makes the vowel before it long, one beat more: トー (tō).
- 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 vito-ru (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 ヴィトール 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
