About NameFerry
What is NameFerry?
NameFerry brings together small tools for a common question: how would I write and say this name in Japanese? Start with a Chinese, English or Korean name, compare the readings, then copy the result or make a name card.
01
What does NameFerry do?
Enter a name in Simplified or Traditional Chinese to compare Japanese character forms, Japanese kanji on-readings, Katakana, Hiragana and Romaji, with a separate reference for the original Mandarin pronunciation.
02
Why the name NameFerry?
A name ferry carries a name between writing systems. That is the idea behind NameFerry, known in Chinese as 名渡侠 or 名渡俠. The original name stays alongside its Japanese reading so you can see how the two fit together.
03
How are the results generated?
The conversion combines public kanji-reading data, Pinyin data and program rules. It runs in the user’s browser, so names entered in the converter are not sent to a NameFerry server.
A Chinese character can have more than one reading, so NameFerry presents candidates that can be reviewed and compared. Users can also contact NameFerry to suggest an additional name reading.
04
A multilingual name reference
NameFerry has Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, English and Japanese pages, plus a Korean-language interface for the Korean name converter. Its guides cover Chinese names in Katakana, common Chinese surnames in Japanese, Furigana fields and the different ways Japanese names can be read.
For a first conversation, the card studio offers portrait, square, landscape and printable A6 layouts. For a reading list, the batch converter produces a table you can copy or download as CSV. The kana chart lets you practise sounds and follow stroke order one character at a time.
NameFerry
Carry a name into another language
Use the converter now, or begin with the name guides to understand how the different readings work.