How to write a Japanese name in Chinese?

I have just recently started studying Chinese and am fascinated by their use of kanji for foreign names and places. Having read up on the various ways they handle names (for example for Harry Potter, it may be transliteral, phonetic or a forced meaning), I am curious to know if western names are treated the same or differently to Japanese names.

For example is
—é–Ø�@Œ’‘¾˜Y
written as this is in Chinese but pronounced differently OR is it pronounced su zu ki ken ta ro and written in its Chinese character equivalent?

My surname is Kavanagh (Irish) so is this broken into: ka va na?

Thanks.

Japanese people's kanji names are just that in Chinese - no change. Of course the pronounciation would be quite laughable maybe.

Foreign names, those you would write in katakana in Japanese... Chinese language does not have a katakana, they only have Chinese characters, and thus it would be spelt out in syallables (as you would in katakana) except using "kanji" to write each syllable.

The names will be written exactly the same. Pronunciation...not sure about that one :)

For foreign words, we generally use Katakana, a form of our alphabet used specifically for foreign words. But like the Chinese adapt foreign words with their character, some people are good at finding Kanji that will give some meaning to your name. I'm sure your Irish surname has some meaning...I'm not very good with Kanji so I can't do it, but maybe someone can adapt it.

But in Katakana, your name would be spelled ƒJƒoƒi�[ I guess.

Sometimes for Va I also see�@�h‚¤�J‚Ÿ�h�^�hƒ”ƒ@�h
(and that is what my IME gives me for 'va') So it could also be
�hƒJƒ”ƒ@ƒi�[�h ... although I think most Japanese would still pronounce it 'kabanaa' unless they had had English pronunciation lessons.

(It is strange that there is a way to distinguish 'V' and 'B' in kana but no way to distinguish 'L' and 'R' ... )

Sorry, I am interested in Western and Japanese names IN Chinese. I have been living here for 6 years and am well aware of katakana and its uses.

How are names written in Chinese? I am looking for people with actual knowledge and specific examples.

Again if
—é–Ø�@Œ’‘¾˜Y
is written exactly as this in Chinese, WHAT is the reading, not ''the pronounciation would be quite laughable maybe''. What is the pronunciation? Are there any native Chinese speakers on this forum? Westerners who speak a bit of Japanese can keep their 2 cents worth for this specific query, thanks.


How is Kavanagh written in CHINESE. is it va or ba? When choosing the character for ''ka'' how do you know what to pick from;
卡�C咖�Cš�C衉 etc...

thank you.

I have however just asked two different Chinese friends about your question and got these answers:

On the choice of characters: You are free to choose what you like, however in official type translator circles, there would already be "standard characters" chosen for ALL Kavanaghs in the world.

On the va/ba: The answer I received from my friends was they would actually make it WA.

I am happy to ask more if you think it will help. Not sure why I'm doing it though, after your narking response.

Me again...

—é–Ø�@Œ’‘¾˜Y
Ling Mu Jian Tai Lang

Confirmed by two Chinese friends.

And me for the 4th time, unless a mod deletes my first post...

My friends are now gone, but interestingly Google Translate has no problem converting Kavanagh to Chinese. If I misspell it as Kavanag then Google gives up - my point is obviously Kavanagh IS in it's database.