A great number of foreign words in katakana are used
in Japan. Foreign words to katakana conversion is based either
on pronunciation or on spelling. It is not always
possible to predict which basis is chosen for
transcribing foreign words. If you see katakana words, the original
foreign words can be guessed roughly by applying some of the following rules. Caution: The pronunciation of foreign words in katakana are
completely "Japanized" and may sound very different from the original pronunciations from which the katakana foreign words are derived.
Rule 1: If the word ends in /i/, /u/ or /o/ sound, delete that sound.
バス
basu ⇒ bas_
bus
マッチ
macchi ⇒ macch_
match
ホット
hotto ⇒ hott_
hot
Rule 2: If the word contains /r/, change it to /l/.
レール
reeru ⇒ reel_
rail
Rule 3: If the word contains /aa/, change it to /ar/, /er/, /ir/, /or/ or /ur/.
ターゲット
taagetto ⇒ targett_
target
インターネット
intaanetto ⇒ internett_
Internet
バード
baado ⇒ bird_
bird
ドクター
dokutaa ⇒ dokutor
doctor
ハードル
haadoru ⇒ hurdol_
hurdle
Rule 4: If the word contains /s/ or /sh/, change it to /th/ or /s/.
サンキュー
sankyuu ⇒ thankyuu
thank you
シンクタンク
shinkutanku ⇒ thinkutank_
think tank
シール
shiiru ⇒ siil_
seal
Rule 5: If the word contains /b/, change it to /v/.
ビデオ
bideo ⇒ video
video
Rule 6: If the word contains /ji/, change it to /zi/ or /si/.
To approximate foreign language sounds more closely to the
original sounds, the following katakana writing styles are optionally used.
These writing styles require small vowel characters
(ァィゥェォ as opposed to the normal size アイウエオ) and, infrequently,
a small ヮ. Caution: Do not try to use these to hiragana words.
You type:
●
シェ as in shell
⇒
シェル
sheru
●
ジェ as in jet
⇒
ジェット
jetto
●
チェ as in check
⇒
チェック
chekku
●
ティ as in tea
⇒
ティー
thi-
●
ディ as in diesel
⇒
ディーゼル
dhi-zeru
●
テュ as in tuba
⇒
テューバ
thu-ba
●
デュ as in dune
⇒
デューン
dhu-nn
●
ウィ as in Wimbledon
⇒
ウィンブルドン
winburudonn
●
ウェ as in waiter
⇒
ウェイター
weita-
●
ウォ as in watch
⇒
ウォッチ
whocchi
●
ヴァ as in van
⇒
ヴァン
vann
●
ヴィ as in David
⇒
ディヴィッド
dheividdo
●
ヴ as in Eve
⇒
イヴ
ivu
●
ヴェ as in vest
⇒
ヴェスト
vesuto
●
ヴォ as in Volvo
⇒
ヴォルヴォ
voruvo
●
イェ as in Yale
⇒
イェール
yie-ru
●
ファ as in farm
⇒
ファーム
fa-mu
●
フィ as in film
⇒
フィルム
firumu
●
フュ as in future
⇒
フューチャー
fyu-cha-
●
フェ as in cafeteria
⇒
カフェテリア
kafeteria
●
フォ as in form
⇒
フォーム
fo-mu
●
トゥ as in two
⇒
トゥー
twu-
●
ドゥ as in do
⇒
ドゥー
dwu-
●
ツァ as in Mozart
⇒
モーツァルト
mo-tsaruto
●
ツェ as in pretzel
⇒
プレッツェル
purettseru
●
ツォ as in cunzone
⇒
カンツォーネ
kantso-ne
●
クァ as in squash
⇒
スクァッシュ
suqasshu
●
クィ as in queen
⇒
クィーン
qi-nn
●
クェ as in square
⇒
スクェア
suqea
●
クォ as in quartz
⇒
クォーツ
qo-tu
●
スィ as in singer
⇒
スィンガー
swinga-
Note
that the /f/ sound in Japanese is pronounced without the upper
teeth touching the lower lip. The sound is similar to the sound
you make when you blow off a candle. We use katakana character フ for
/f/ as in ファ, フィ, フ, フェ, and フォ (/fa/, /fi/,
/fu/, /fe/, and /fo/, respectively). The /fyu/
sound as in future is written as フュ. Some Japanese companies also use katakana to write their names (e.g., ソニー (Sony), パナソニック (Panasonic), トヨタ (Toyota), etc.） for public use even though their official names may be written in kanji.
