NameFerry Guides
Chinese name guides
Choose a guide to name order, novel character names, compound surnames, Japanese readings, Katakana or Furigana.
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How do you read a Chinese name in Japanese?
Writing a Chinese name in Japanese is not a single conversion. A Japanese kanji on-reading and a Katakana transcription of the original Mandarin sound are different methods for different situations.
→02How to write a Chinese name in Japanese Katakana
Compare Japanese readings, Mandarin pronunciation and the available Kana formats.
→03How are common Chinese surnames read in Japanese?
Look up common Chinese surnames in Japanese glyphs, on-readings and Mandarin Katakana.
→04How to fill in Furigana with a Chinese name
Distinguish name, Furigana, Hiragana and Roman-letter fields.
→05How are common Chinese given-name characters read in Japanese?
Compare Japanese glyphs, on-readings and Mandarin Katakana for common given-name characters.
→06How are Chinese novel character names read in Japanese?
Compare Japanese kanji, on-readings and Mandarin Katakana through Chinese fictional character names.
→Browse by question
How is the Chinese surname Zhang read in Japanese?
Compare Zhang in Japanese kanji, Katakana, Hiragana, Romaji and Mandarin pronunciation.
→How does a Chinese name change in Japanese kanji?
Compare Chinese name characters with commonly used Japanese forms.
→What is the difference between Japanese romaji and Pinyin for a Chinese name?
See how a Japanese on-reading becomes romaji and how it differs from Hanyu Pinyin.
→How do you write a Chinese name in Japanese hiragana?
Compare the hiragana and katakana forms of a Chinese name’s Japanese on-reading.
→How do you introduce your Chinese name in Japanese?
Learn to explain a Chinese name’s kanji, pronunciation, and preferred form of address in Japanese.
→Why Japanese names cannot be read by on’yomi alone
Compare Chinese-name on-readings and learn how Katakana, Hiragana and Romaji differ.
→Does the family name or given name come first?
Match family and given names with common Japanese and English field labels.
→How are Chinese compound surnames read in Japanese?
Compare Japanese glyphs, on-readings and Mandarin Katakana for compound Chinese surnames.
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