Wilhelm
ヴィルヘルム
Viruherumu
Also written ウィルヘルム.
How It Is Said
- ヴィvi
- ルru
- ヘhe
- ルru
- ムmu
Viruherumu: five 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| German | ヴィルヘルム | Viruherumu | the usual form |
| ウィルヘルム | Wiruherumu | also in use |
What Happens to the Sounds
- In German, w is said like an English v, so it is written ヴ (v): ヴィルヘルム.
- 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).
- Japanese syllables end in a vowel or in ン, so the final m takes a light vowel: ム (mu).
- A small kana joins the one before it into one beat: ヴィ (vi).
The German emperor Wilhelm II is ヴィルヘルム2世 in Japanese.
To Type It
On a computer with Japanese input switched on, type viruherumu, 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 ヴィルヘルム 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
