Takase Studios - Names in Japanese Z

The standard way names are translated to Japanese is a phonetic translation into katakana. With this the pronunciation of the name is preserved and the characters have no meanings. This is the way non-Japanese names appear in dictionaries, newspapers, and encyclopedias. So if you are looking for the standard way to translate your name to Japanese then use the phonetic translation into katakana. For more information visit How to Write Names in Japanese.

A name can have several different pronunciations and so it is important to know which pronunciation is being translated. For a common example, the name "Jan" can be pronounced either JAN or YAHN. Because of space limitations we do not show the pronunciation here, but if you click on the name you can find this along with other details about the name. If you need more information about a name simply click on the name below.

Learn Japanese Calligraphy Lessons 1 - 6 by Eri Takase

Learn Japanese Calligraphy by Eri Takase is a unique Japanese Calligraphy course on CD-ROM. With these CD's you can learn Japanese Calligraphy by actually seeing the characters being brushed by Master Japanese Calligrapher Eri Takase. Japanese Calligraphy is all about movement and you simply cannot learn the proper movement from a book. These CD lessons actually shows videos of Master Takase brushing the characters - and you can learn proper technique by seeing it over and over again. We also show videos of common student errors and how to correct them. Along with the videos are samples with stroke order that can be printed as well as detailed step by step instructions. Learn Japanese Calligraphy is a great learning tool by itself or to complement your current studies.

The first CD includes topics on tool selection, posture, how to hold the brush as well as the basic strokes of the block font. Each lesson covers the stroke order with examples that can be printed. Combined with our Japanese Calligraphy Sets you will have all you need to begin your study of Japanese Calligraphy.

Kanji & Kana : A Handbook of the Japanese Writing System by Wolfgang Hadamitzky and Mark Spahn

This is an excellent reference and is perfect for learning the stroke order of kana and kanji.

The New Nelson Japanese-English Character Dictionary by John H. Haig, Andrew N. Nelson

For more advanced needs this is the Japanese-English kanji dictionary.

United States Census - 1990 - The top 2400 male and female names from this US government publication are covered in our list.

BabyNamer - Produced by Oxygen Media this is a good source for the meaning of names.

The Etymology of First Names - This site is our second choice when researching the meaning and pronunciations of given names.

StockKanji - Names in Japanese Calligraphy Over 4000 first names translated to Japanese. This is a searchable site giving much more information about each name than we show here. Many names also have original, hand-lettered designs for personal use like a tattoo and for professional use such as for wedding invitations or as part of a logo design.

Jeffrey's Japanese<->English Dictionary Server - An on-line dictionary that does not require Japanese fonts. This dictionary is terse so it is easy to misinterpret. Its value for name translations is limited as it does not give the pronunciation.

Goo Jiten - A good on-line English/Japanese dictionary. Japanese fonts are required.

Names in Japanese - Z