Write Your Name in Katakana: Free Converter, Rules, Examples

You write your name in katakana by spelling it out by sound, not by letter, and matching each sound to a katakana character. For example, the name Erika breaks into the sounds e-ri-ka and becomes エリカ.

This guide walks you through the same process for any name, with a sound chart, four simple rules, and real examples you can copy. By the end you will be able to write your name, read it out loud, and use it in a quick Japanese self-introduction.

Want it done for you first? Try our free katakana name converter, then come back here to understand and fine-tune the result.

How to Write Your Name in Katakana (Quick Answer)

Here is the whole method in three short steps.

1. Break your name into sounds. Say it slowly and listen for sound chunks, not spelling. Erika is e-ri-ka.
2. Match each sound to a katakana character. Use the chart below. e-ri-ka becomes エ-リ-カ.
3. Apply four small rules for long vowels, lone consonants, L sounds, and sharp doubled sounds.

That is it. Most names are done in under a minute once you know the sounds. The rest of this guide explains each step so you can handle trickier names with confidence.

Why Foreign Names Use Katakana

Japanese has three writing systems: hiragana, katakana, and kanji. Katakana is the set used for foreign words and foreign names. When a Japanese person sees your name in katakana, they immediately know it is a name from another language and how to pronounce it.

Hiragana covers native Japanese words and grammar. Kanji are characters borrowed from Chinese that carry meaning. Your name is a borrowed sound, so katakana is its natural home.

There are 46 basic katakana characters, plus a handful of marks and small characters that extend them to cover more sounds. You do not need to memorize all of them to write your name. You only need the few that match your own sounds.

Step 1: Break Your Name Into Sounds

This is the step most people get wrong, so go slowly. Japanese is built from simple syllables, almost all of them a single consonant followed by a vowel, like ka, mi, or to.

Say your name out loud and break it into those small chunks. Listen to the sounds you actually make, and ignore how the name is spelled.

• Erika is heard as e-ri-ka.
• Tom is heard as to-m.
• Sarah is heard as sa-ra (or se-ra, depending on how you say it).

Notice that letters and sounds are not the same thing. The name Mike is four letters but really two sounds, ma-i plus a k. Get the sounds right and the rest of the process falls into place.

Step 2: Match Each Sound to a Katakana Character

Now take each sound chunk and find its katakana character on the chart. Write them left to right, in the same order you say them.

For e-ri-ka:

• e becomes エ
• ri becomes リ
• ka becomes カ

Put them together and you get エリカ.

For a name like Lisa, the sounds are ri-sa (more on the L below), which gives you リサ. Work one sound at a time and do not rush. If a sound does not appear on the basic chart, the rules in the next step will tell you what to use instead.

Step 3: Apply the Four Sound Rules

Four small rules handle nearly every name. Learn these and you can convert names that are not simple matches.

1. Long vowels use the ー mark. When you hold a vowel longer, add the long-vowel mark ー (called a chouonpu). Lee has a long ee, so it becomes リー. Sarah said with a long a becomes セーラ.

2. Lone consonants get a vowel added. Japanese syllables almost always end in a vowel, so a consonant on its own needs a helper vowel. The default helper is u, written as ス (su), ク (ku), ブ (bu), and so on. After a t or d sound, the helper is usually o, as in ト (to) and ド (do). Smith ends in the th and the th-like s sound, so it becomes スミス (su-mi-su).

3. L becomes R. Japanese has no separate L sound, so every L maps to the R row: ラ リ ル レ ロ. Lily becomes リリー, and Carl becomes カール. Your L will sound like a soft R, and that is exactly right.

4. Sharp doubled sounds use a small ッ. When there is a quick, hard stop before a consonant, mark it with a small ッ (called a sokuon). Becky becomes ベッキー, and Mitch becomes ミッチ. The small ッ tells the reader to clip the sound, then carry on.

Katakana Sound Chart for Names

Here is the basic chart. Find your sounds, write the matching characters, and you are most of the way there.

Vowel	a	i	u	e	o
(none)	ア	イ	ウ	エ	オ
k	カ	キ	ク	ケ	コ
s	サ	シ (shi)	ス	セ	ソ
t	タ	チ (chi)	ツ (tsu)	テ	ト
n	ナ	ニ	ヌ	ネ	ノ
h	ハ	ヒ	フ (fu)	ヘ	ホ
m	マ	ミ	ム	メ	モ
y	ヤ		ユ		ヨ
r	ラ	リ	ル	レ	ロ
w	ワ				ヲ
n (alone)	ン

Add two small marks to reach more sounds:

Sound	a	i	u	e	o
g	ガ	ギ	グ	ゲ	ゴ
z	ザ	ジ (ji)	ズ	ゼ	ゾ
d	ダ			デ	ド
b	バ	ビ	ブ	ベ	ボ
p	パ	ピ	プ	ペ	ポ

For sounds that English has but the basic chart does not, katakana combines characters. These are the ones that trip people up, so here they are mapped clearly.

Tricky English sound	Katakana	Example
L (no L exists)	R row: ラ リ ル レ ロ	Lisa to リサ
V	バ row, or ヴァ ヴィ ヴ ヴェ ヴォ	Victor to ビクター
th (as in Smith)	usually s row (サ ス) or z row (ザ ズ)	Smith to スミス
f plus vowel	ファ フィ フェ フォ	Stefan to ステファン
ti / di	ティ / ディ	Tim to ティム
she / je / che	シェ / ジェ / チェ	Jessica to ジェシカ
wi / we / wo	ウィ / ウェ / ウォ	Wendy to ウェンディ
final consonant	add a vowel (ク ト ス ブ)	Bob to ボブ

Worked Examples: Common First and Last Names in Katakana

Here are real names so you can see the rules in action.

Name	Sounds	Katakana
Erika	e-ri-ka	エリカ
Mike	ma-i-ku	マイク
Anna	a-n-na	アンナ
David	de-i-bi-d(o)	デイビッド
Lisa	ri-sa	リサ
Tom	to-mu	トム
Jessica	je-shi-ka	ジェシカ
Smith	su-mi-su	スミス
Brown	bu-ra-u-n	ブラウン
Johnson	jo-n-so-n	ジョンソン

Now a copy-paste-ready walkthrough for a longer name, so you can mirror it on your own. Take Christopher.

1. Break it into sounds: Chris-to-pher becomes ku-ri-su-to-fa.
2. Match each sound: ku is ク, ri is リ, su is ス, to is ト, fa is ファ.
3. Apply the rules: the final er is a held vowel, so add the long mark ー.
4. Put it together: クリストファー.

Run your own name through those same four steps. Write each sound, then read the line back to check it.

How to Read and Say Your Katakana Name Out Loud

Reading katakana is the reverse of writing it. Say each character in order, giving every vowel its full, even sound.

Take マイケル (Michael): ma-i-ke-ru. Say the sounds smoothly and you will hear your name come through with a Japanese accent. That accent is not a mistake, it is how the name fits Japanese sounds.

A few quick tips:

• Give each vowel equal weight. Japanese vowels are short and clean.
• Hold the ー mark a beat longer.
• Clip the sound before a small ッ, then continue.

Reading your name aloud a few times locks in both the sounds and the shapes.

How to Introduce Yourself With Your New Katakana Name

A written name becomes useful the moment you can say it in a sentence. Here is a simple, polite self-introduction.

はじめまして。エリカです。よろしくおねがいします。

Hajimemashite. Erika desu. Yoroshiku onegaishimasu.

Nice to meet you. I am Erika. I look forward to getting to know you.

Swap in your own katakana name where エリカ is. Hajimemashite means nice to meet you, desu marks your name politely, and yoroshiku onegaishimasu is a warm closing phrase used at first meetings. Say it slowly and you will sound natural and friendly.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

A few small habits cause most katakana name errors.

• Spelling by letters instead of sounds. Mike is not ma-i-ke; it is ma-i-ku. Always start from sounds.
• Forgetting the long-vowel mark. Lee without the ー reads as a short Ri. Add ー for held vowels.
• Trying to keep the L sound. There is no L in Japanese. Let it become the R row and you are correct.
• Dropping the small ッ. Becky needs the clipped stop: ベッキー, not ベキー.
• Writing silent letters. Katakana follows sound, so the silent k in Knight disappears: ナイト. Write only what you say.

None of these are serious. Read your name back out loud and most slips become easy to catch.

Practice Writing Your Name by Hand (Free Printable)

Recognizing a character and writing it smoothly are two different skills. Hand practice helps the shapes and stroke order stick.

Stroke order matters because it keeps your characters balanced and easy to read, and Japanese writing follows consistent patterns: generally top to bottom and left to right. You can watch an animated stroke-order demo to see exactly how each character is formed, then trace along.

For offline practice, our free printable Japanese writing practice sheets give you grid lines and stroke guides so you can write your name by hand at your own pace. Print a sheet, write your name a few times, and the characters quickly start to feel familiar.

There is no single right way to practice; do what feels right for you. Some people love paper, some prefer a screen, and many enjoy both.

How Kana Conbini can help

Kana Conbini is a free-to-start Japanese-learning app, and it is one friendly option among many for getting your katakana name to feel natural.

• Learn the characters by hand. The Write Kanji mode walks you through all 46 katakana in correct stroke order, with guides that fade as you improve.
• Recognize them at speed. Conbini Run is a relaxed convenience-store game where you read hiragana, katakana, and kanji to serve customers, which builds quick recognition.
• Hear real pronunciation. Every one of the 10,000-plus vocabulary words, from N5 to N1, has native Japanese audio, so the sounds in your name become familiar.
• Review at the right time. Smart reviews bring each character back just before you would forget it, so practice stays short and sticks.
• Start for free. It runs on iPhone and Android with no subscription to begin, so you can try it and see if it fits your style.

When you are ready for more, the learn hub has further guides, and you can always start from the home page. Write your name, say it out loud, and enjoy seeing it in katakana for the first time.