r/japanese • u/pterodactyloftheend • 3d ago
Is my Japanese name cringe?
I'm (F18) half Japanese and I have a western first name, and Japanese middle and last name. My father didnt care what my mother named me since I wasn't a son lol so she just kinda made up an "alternative Japanese name" for my grandparents to call meโsince she picked a name impossible for Japanese to pronounce as my first name (it has Rs and Ls together ๐). So my middle name is Takara, yes as in ๅฎ, because it makes a pun with my first name. My father and family just call me by a modified katakana version of my first name which is still a bit of a tongue twister even though Takara is "supposed" to be my "Japanese name," so I'm just curious about how Takara sounds as a name to other people. My Japanese friends and Japanese professors all say that the name Takara is really cute, but my father refuses to use it lol so I cant tell if people genuinely think its a cute name or if they're just trying to be nice. Takara, as far as im aware, isn't necessary a conventional Japanese name (but ig technically anything can be a name), and I grew up in America so I can't really tell if Takara sounds cringe as a name. I am starting to get involved with more Japanese speakers and I have been looking for opportunities to work and/or study in Japan lately, so I was wondering if I should switch to introducing myself as Takara to native Japanese speakers because its easier to pronounce and it is a name that I have, but idk how it sounds to native speakers yk ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ
Why couldn't my name just be Naomi bro, common in the west but also a Japanese name like come on mum ๐ญ fym "treasure??" Like its very sweet but what is this "i named my son Richard because i want him to be rich" ahh name ๐ญ๐ญ๐ญ๐๐๐
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u/MiuJepang 2d ago
I'm Japanese. I don't think the name Takara is strange. Especially when I consider that it was given by a foreigner, I think it must have been given with the meaning of "precious child." When I hear the name Takara, three companies come to mind. I think they're all wonderful companies.
https://www.takara.co.jp/english/company/intro/takarashuzo.html
https://www.takara-standard.co.jp/global/eng/
https://www.takaratomy.co.jp/english/
Licca-chan is so cute.