How to pronounce this name

ˆÁŒ´•ü›‰


I'm not sure which half would be the name or family name so could someone clarify that as well as the pronunciation.

ˆÁŒ´•ü›‰

Left to right:
Ihara Houjitsu

Ihara would be the family name. The given name is just a guess as pronunciations of given name kanji can be varied.

Thanks for the help with the previous!

I don't need accuracy but rather authenticity. I was all for pasting the name into a kanji dictionary and just hammering a name out blindly out of the various pronunciations but then I remembered this forum ^^

The second name: ‰i—F
And the third: �]�Z, with �¬�Z being the nickname of sorts.

For the first part, ˆÁŒ´, since there is a place/city name by that kanji that is pronounced "Ihara," that is probable. At least you can say you've seen it read that way.

When it comes to •ü›‰, probably the given name, noone but the very person with that name can say with certainty how it is read. But they say that when you don't know how to pronounce/read a given name in kanji, use the "on-reading," in order not to give it a completely wrongly reading or to offend by mistaking. So, yes, that gets you to Houjitsu. •ü by the "kun-reading" is "tomo," and ›‰ is the older character for ŽÀ, which in names can be read as (again by "kun-reading") is "zane," so the given name MAY be "Tomozane."

You can say it's authentic only in the sense it's according to what you (or for average Japanese) could find out, but it may not be "real" at all, so it's not that authentic :)

I have seen:
‰i—F as family name read "Nagatomo" (that is by "kun-reading").
‰i—F as given name read "Eiyuu" (that is by "on-reading).
For company/shop names, both readings seem to be used.

�]�Z is likely "Esumi" (family name) as far as I know. Žq�Z? no idea, but possibly "Kosumi," maybe because he is small, or smaller than another guy with �Z in his name, or something like that.

Many thanks AK! ^^ The second name was indeed a family name so it's great that you have the foresight to give both as a given as well as a family name.

To trouble you again, this time regarding the given name of the second name: Žk�l

Žk�l is a given name, read either "Tsuguto" or "Tsuguhito" (I can't think of anything else). A male name.

Any character in a book or something?

Yes. It's a guy's name from a book ^^

I'm helping a scanlation group translate a manga into English from Chinese and they want the names as they are originally in Jap, not Chinese, so that's why I'm here.

It's a pain this way since without the actual Jap manga with the lovely furigana, all I can do with the names is guess and (better still,) ask around in forums!

pyrawaters, are you Singaporean? Perhaps not, but I have noticed a tendency of Singaporeans to use the abbreviation "Jap" on this forum and elsewhere as they are unaware of the offense it may cause.

Just so you know, the word "Jap" is considered by many Japanese people and English speakers as well to be offensive- it has associations with WW2 and is similar in feeling to using the word "chink" for Chinese. Please try to avoid it.

Thank you, Sira, for pointing it out - some say it's a common abbreviation in certain countries, but whenever I see that word I start to feel some dark current starting to boil somewhere inside me lol. It's nothing personal, but as a good custom, please, please do avoid it.

Lol. Made the same mistake. If it is as bad as the f word, better not use it in a hurry.

similar in feeling to using the word "chink" for Chinese.

Chink? What is it? (Googles it...) Oh. It's a rude word? Hm...Never heard of it before though.

but I have noticed a tendency of Singaporeans to use the abbreviation "Jap" on this forum and elsewhere as they are unaware of the offense it may cause.

Guess what. When I came here to London, I was surprised. In my university, the Japanese society called themselves J*psoc (Japanese Society in abbreviation). I was like, wait a minute...I thought it's a rude word? But then that's what it is, though I've never referred to it that way.

the word "Jap" is considered by many Japanese people and English speakers as well to be offensive

The irony...=)

Yes, I'm Singaporean but as to whether it's truly a national tendency to abbreviate as such, I'm unsure.

I apologize to any Japanese who felt even the slightest bit of discontent at my careless usage. I'm fully aware of the fact that quite a few find it offensive but I replied to AK hastily and the usual contractions were applied without any forethought for the readers. I'm lazy and even in speech with my friends, 'Japanese' is oft transmuted into 'Jap'.

That is not an excuse however. Just an explanation. I'm truly sorry AK and to whomever else that I caused your unhappiness. This definitely will ensure that there'll be less future lapses though :)

@ Zyzzyva

'Chink' as a contraction for 'Chinese'? XD Never heard that one before. Actually, can't say I heard any contractions for Chinese before.

Personally I think that amusing and not the least bit offensive but that's could be just me I guess. Then again, that will change as soon as I see someone using the term in a derogatory manner but otherwise I see no ill intent if it's simply for contraction's sake.

pyrawaters,

Thank you for coming back with your apology and comments, much appreciated :)

Any more questions on names, I'd be happy to help :)