Japanese kanji name meanings - How
it is done
Japanese use kanji
for their names, but wouldn't usually use
them for English names. They have another
alphabet called katakana that they use for
foreign words like English names. Katakana
don't have meaning though, so they aren't
very artistic or fun :)
The kanji names
on SamuraiBaby.com have been created in
the following way:
1. Each Japanese
kanji has multiple pronunciations and meanings.
2. Only certain kanji are used by the Japanese
for names.
3. Based on the pronunciation of the English
name, kanji that have similar sounds and
are good for using in names are considered.
4. From these kanji the best combination
is chosen.
Care is taken
in doing the best match in terms of combining
the right sounds and most attractive meanings,
but it should be pointed out that these
are still just artistic interpretations
rather than the only "right" meanings for
the names. As the same sounding English
names can have different spellings (Ann,
Anne) and variations (Ana, Anya, Anita,
etc.) there are multiple combinations of
kanji that can be used for a name that sounds
the same. Also, when applying Japanese kanji
to English names, there are some limitations
in terms of sound, since the Japanese language
has less sound combinations than English.
For more on the character sets and sounds
that are used in Japanese, click here.
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