Name stamp for foreign name
Posted by: kirin on 
Oct 22nd, 2009 | 
Filed under: Something Interesting
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On my way to Europe last month, I found something interesting at Narita airport before I left Japan. There were many kinds of foreign men’s and women’s names (I guess English names) available with Kanji stamps! I took 2 pictures with my mobile phone, which were Eric and Donna.
When you choose Kanji for your name, you can just pick up any Kanji that has a similar sound of the pronunciation of your name, which is as I explained before in my video. However, you have to know that it doen’t always mean that every sound has its Kanji. For example, there’s no exact sound applicable for the name such as “Sean” (ショーン) because there is no Kanji that sounds “－” or “ン” and instead, I would write it as 勝運（ショウウン=means victory and luck）for example, to make it sound similar to “Sean”. “Eric” in this photo is very similar to Amanda’s case. 栄 is usually called “ei (エイ)” but here in the name it’s called “e (エ)”. 里久 can be called “riku” and so, the whole name sounds like “eriku (エリク)” without a small “ッ” which is because we don’t have a proper Kanji that has a sound of “ッ”. Therefore, not all of the foreign names are as easily translated into Kanji as Donna, the other picture I added down to Eric. Yet, I found it very interesting they sell these stamps at Narita airport. Those who enjoyed travelling in Japan finally spend extra yen for such cute souvenires. It was 1000 yen or so, as far as I remember. |
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October 22nd, 2009 at 3:04 pm
<3 that! I'll be sure to pick one up when I land at Narita Airport ( whenever that happens ). It would be handy if I could get those at labels to sew on my towels , handkerchiefs , boots, etcetera.
And then I want one that says " Walter was here !" so I can leave it in public toilets , public buildings, telephone booths. B) Just kidding.
October 22nd, 2009 at 9:06 pm
Hi Kirin. This is a request not related to the post but I didn't know how else to make it on your blog site.
Could you please do a post about pets in Japan? Do you own any pets? What kind of pets are popular?
When I lived in Japan I visited pet stores and saw many pets that you cannot own in Australia (chinchilla, baby wallaby etc.). Do many people own pets in Japan? I owned some hamsters in Japan and my boyfriend owned turtles but we had a large apartment with plenty of space. Now in Brisbane I have two kittens (very cute!) and I have heard of cat cafes in tokyo. Have you visited one?
If you are too busy to write a post about this then I am sorry for intruding!
I am really enjoying reading your blog!
Cheers,
Cat
October 23rd, 2009 at 12:58 pm
Cute! Not something I would buy myself (although my name translates well into Japanese – even one of my students’ mother was called Risako ^^) but it’s definitely a nice idea for a souvenir to take home for someone.
October 24th, 2009 at 4:11 pm
Hi Kirin
question to ask you again.
How do i say ” I have a pet cat” in japanese?
Just realized there isnt a has/have in japanese.
Thank you very much
October 25th, 2009 at 12:09 am
We say in the way just the same as "I have a cat." "猫を飼っている" because when we say "kau=飼う" (to keep or to have) that should be domestic animals, which means pet(s). Or you could say, "I have a pet and it's cat." "ペットがいて、猫を飼っています" Does that make sense to you?
October 25th, 2009 at 5:44 am
Kirin
thank you very much
for your help 
October 25th, 2009 at 2:55 pm
My hubby loves things that r chinese, so he wanted a translation of his name in chinese kanji. With the aid of a chinese/english dictionary, he wrote several possibilities n hv it checked out by my elder brother. When we met the stamp maker (with green jade) in SG, he managed to translate the sounds back to english, so I think my hubby had the right kanji
If only we came across these ready-made ones much earlier ! He uses his stamp for internal use, to much amusement of his colleagues. For official documents, he has to sign his given name :-} !
October 26th, 2009 at 8:13 am
He is lucky and he can enjoy Chinese thanks to you.
March 28th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
Hello Kirin!
I just start reading your blog because I love watching Tokyo Kawaii TV. Your blog is very interesting and I have learnt a lot! ^__^
I know this is old entry but I want to make a comment. You mention that there is difficultly in romanising the name 'Sean' into kanji. But actually there is a Johnny's junior and his japanese name is very similar to Sean sound. His name is 山下翔央. How would you read his name do you think? It is actually やました しょおん and his mother make this name because she had foreign influence and really want to make her son's name sound like 'Sean' so actually she choose english name first and then change to Japanese! (I used to be fan of him so I know such detail haha~) So do you think しょおん is a good translation for ショーン? Just interested to hear your comments!
- kyuri^^
March 29th, 2010 at 2:22 pm
Hi kyuri, thanks for your comment. I always welcome any comments even if they are left at old posts. When I just see his name, I'd read it as "Shouou" or "Shouo". I think his mom used 央as "on" for convenience sake, but the word itself doesn't have a sound as "on" basically. But I think it's a good idea to give English name in Kanji.
July 3rd, 2010 at 12:31 pm
my name is emily and i was wondering what my name is in japanese…also i love japanese related things especially the language bcause its so beautiful, anyways can you tell me how to say "i love you" in japanese
Thanks,
Wannabe Otaku Emily
July 5th, 2010 at 9:26 am
Emily can be 恵美里 or 絵未利 or any kind of options from the combination of kanji that sounds "e" "mi" and "ri".
I love you = Aishite iru 愛している
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