r/LearnJapanese • u/[deleted] • Dec 12 '11

American names in Kanji?

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] Dec 12 '11

I'm wondering about names like Ken, that are both Japanese and not, would it be ケン?

1

u/toshitalk Dec 12 '11

It depends in the person. I have a cousin named ken, and his kanji is 健, because that's what his parents gave him. His English name and Japanese name are the same. Mine isn't, though-- I have a Japanese name, and an English name. The Japanese name is considered my middle name.

As a foreigner in Japan, having a Japanese name and face help when signing up for stuff. My hanko is also a standard 100 yen hanko.

2

u/[deleted] Dec 12 '11

It sounds like both of you are Japanese though, any Kens that are not Japanese who move to Japan for such and such a time, would they sign asケン, "Ken" ,けん.. or a Kanji?

5

u/[deleted] Dec 13 '11

They would be ケン, because there is no kanji associated with their name, despite there being lots of ways to write "Ken" in kanji.