Katakana spelling of foreign words are a result of people’s attempts to notate the sounds they hear. Each person may hear the same sound differently. For that reason, it is natural for Katakana words to have a few (many?) variations. However, if the word is commonly used, a general consensus gets formed over a period of time and that will become the fixed spelling for that word even if the notation may not sound accurate to those who speak the original language.

I will list up a few general guidelines which I hope you will find helpful when you write an ENGLISH word in Katakana. Please note that I talk about sounds below, not spellings, so even if the combination of English letters are identical, different rules may apply. For example, the “-ear” part of “bear” and “hear” have different sounds, so different rules apply. Please also bear in mind that there will be many exceptions and that there can be more than 1 accepted spelling. If you are in doubt, it is always a good idea to check it with a dictionary or search online!

Proper Nouns – especially Surnames and Place Names

Always look it up online or in a dictionary/atlas.

Transliteration Flowchart

Katakana Transliteration Chart

Customary Spelling

Some foreign words are introduced to the Japanese language a long, long time ago and these words are written quite differently from their actual sounds. Please refer to the customary spelling page. This page will be updated periodically.

Dividing into Syllables for Transliteration

Katakana letters consist of:

compositionnumber of letters
vowel letters5 letters (ア, イ, ウ, エ, オ)
orphan consonant letter1 letter (ン)
combination of one consonant + one vowel40 letters

So it is logical to divide the word into

  • vowel only (with or without “r”)
  • orphan consonant
  • consonant + vowel (with or without “r”)
    • the letter “r” not followed by a vowel should stay with the vowel before it

Examples

  • civic = ci/vi/c ⇒ シビック
  • ice = i/ce (“e” is silent) ⇒ アイス
  • climax = c/li/ma/x ⇒ クライマックス
  • internet = i/n/ter/ne/t/ ⇒ インターネット
  • sandwich = sa/n/d/wi/ch ⇒ サンドイッチ or サンドウィッチ

Section A: Orphan Consonant Sounds

The following table shows which katakana letter to be used for each English “orphan” consonant sound. Here, I use the word “orphan” in the meaning of “not followed by a vowel sound.” An orphan consonant (sound) can be followed by a silent “e.” For example, the letter “e” in the word “ice” is not pronounced, so the “c” is orphan and “ice” is spelled アイス in Katakana.

Possible
English spelling		Pronunciation
Symbol		Sound as inKatakana
Letter to use
C/CK/K/QU[k]civic, sick, cook, uniqueク
G[g]eggグ
CE/S/TH[s] / [θ]ice, desk, toothス
SH[ʃ]brushシュ
S/Z/TH[z] / [ð]shoes, maze, clotheズ
G, DG[ʒ] / [ʤ]garage, judgeジ
T[t]cutト
CH[ʧ] [tɕ]churchチ
TS[ts]catsツ
D[d]Dadド
N[n]cottonン
N/NG[ŋ]thank, singン (middle of a word)
ング (end of a word)
F/PH[f]proof, graphフ
B[b]Bobブ
P[p]stopプ
M[m]camp
mum		ン (middle of a word)
ム (end of a word)
L/R[l] mallル
R[r]motor/floor/karmaー /ア/ル**
see the Section C
W[w]cowウ
V[v]fiveヴ*/ブ
X[ks]maxクス
*donates rare use; **ル is commonly used for most orphan “r” in languages other than English

Section B: A Consonant + a Simple/Short Vowel Sound

Japanese people generally distinguish only 5 different vowel sounds, ア for [ʌ], イ for [i], ウ for [u], エ for [e] and オfor [ɔ]. As English has many more vowel sounds, you need to choose the closest sound to Japanese ears in order to write them in Katakana.

In English, the semi-vowel sound [j] (as in cute and regular) is only used in conjunction with the vowel [u] and often the [ju] sound is treated as a vowel sound. However, in Japanese (and probably in other languages also), the semi-vowel [j] sound gets used with other vowels as well , thus I treated a combinations of a consonant and the [j] sound as a consonant and added rows for those in the table below, although they are not consonants, strictly speaking. These sounds with [j] is listed in the second table of this section.

Combinations of a Simple Consonant and a Short Vowel Sound

Possible English spellingA/OO/OU/UI/YU/O/OOE/EAA/O
Pronunciation Symbol　Sound as in[ʌ] for gun, blood
[ə] for success, famous
[æ] for fax, watt, etc.
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “a” or “u” such as natural, consensus		[i] for English, city
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “i” such as clematis, clarinet		[u] for put, book, wolf[e] for egg, red, head
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “e” such as electronics, barbecue		[ɔ] for dog, soft, wash
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “o” such as original, combination
Vowelsアイウエオ
C/CK/K[k]coffee, kickカ
キャ [kæ] as in “cat”		キクケコ
G[g]goガ
ギャ [gæ] as in “gang”		ギグゲゴ
S/TH[s] / [θ]sea, thinkサシ/スィ*スセソ
CH/SH[ʃ]machine, shipシャシシュシェショ
Z/TH[z] / [ð]zebra, thatザジ/ズィ*ズゼゾ
G/S/J, DG[ʒ] / [ʤ]garage, usual, Japan, judgeジャジジュジェジョ
T[t]Tomタティ/チトゥ/ツテト
CH/T[ʧ] [tɕ]church, futureチャチチュチェチョ
D[d]Dadダディドゥデド
N[n]Nickナニヌネノ
H[h]hotハヒフヘホ
F[f]foodファフィフフェフォ
B[b]Bobバビブベボ
P[p]potパピプペポ
M[m]mumマミムメモ
Y[j]youngヤユヨ
L/R[l] / [r]light, rightラリルレロ
W[w]winワウィ/イウウェウォ
V[v]vineヴァ*/バヴィ*/ビヴ*/ブヴェ*/ベヴォ*/ボ

Combinations of a Consonant, a semi-vowel and a Short Vowel Sound

Possible English spellingA/OO/OU/UI/YU/O/OOE/EAA/O
Pronunciation Symbol　Sound as in[ʌ] for gun, blood
[ə] for success, famous
[æ] for fax, watt, etc.
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “a” or “u” such as natural, consensus		[i] for English, city
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “i” such as clematis, clarinet		[u] for put, book, wolf[e] for egg, red, head
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “e” such as electronics, barbecue		[ɔ] for dog, soft, wash
[vague vowel sound] spelt with “o” such as original, combination
KY[kj]cuteキャキィ*/キキュキェキョ
KW[kw]Quartクァ*/カクィ*/キククェクォ
GY[gj]regularギャギィ*/ギギュギェギョ
GW[gw]Guavaグァ*/ガグィ*/ギググェグォ
SW[sw]swingスワスウィ*/スイスウ*/ススウェスウォ
TU[tj]tulipチャ/テャ*チ/ティ*チュ/テュ*チェ/テェ*チョ/テョ*
TS/Z[ts]tsunami, Mozartツァツィツツェツォ
TW[tw]twistトワ/トゥア*ツィ/トゥイ*ツ/トゥ*ツェ/トゥエ*ツォ/トゥオ*
DJ[dj]dewデャ*ディデュデデョ*
DW[dw]dwarfドワ/ドゥア*ドイ/ドゥイヅ/ドゥ*ヅェ/ドゥエ*ヅォ/デュオ*
NY/NJ[nj]neutralニャニニュニェニョ
NG[ŋg]English, kangarooンガンギングンゲンゴ
HJ/HY[hj]humanヒャヒヒュヒェヒョ
WH[hw]white, whoホワホイフホエホ
BJ/BY[bj]Bjornsonビャビビュビェビョ
PJ/PY[pj]pureeピャピピュピェピョ
MY[mj]Myanmarミャミミュミェミョ
LJ[lj] / [rj]Ljubljanaリャリリュリェリョ

Section C: Long and/or combined Vowel sounds with or without “r”

  • Use -a sounding katakana letter with a “ー”（アー、カー、サー…） for:
    • [ɑː] sound: father = ファーザー. caste (system in India) = カースト, etc.
      With these sounds without [r] sound or “r” letter in the spelling, more and more people omit the prolonged vowel bar “ー” these days.
    • [ɑːr] sound: arm = アーム, heart = ハート, etc.
    • [əːr] sound: herb = ハーブ, first = ファースト, etc.
  • Use -a sounding katakana letter with an “イ”（アイ、カイ、サイ…） for:
    • [ai] sound: eye = アイ, fry = フライ, bike = バイク, etc.
  • Use -a sounding katakana letter with an “イヤ”（アイヤ、カイヤ、サイヤ…）(traditional)
    or -a sounding katakana letter with an “イア”（アイア、カイア、サイア…）(trendy) for:
    • [aiər] sound: fire = ファイヤ/ファイア, wire = ワイヤ/ワイア, tyre = タイヤ/タイア, etc.
  • Use -a sounding katakana letter with an “ウ”（アウ、カウ、サウ…）for:
    • [au] sound: sound = サウンド, now = ナウ, etc.
  • Use -a sounding katakana letter with a “ワー”（アワー、カワー、サワー…）for:
    • [auər] sound: hour = アワー, flower = フラワー, sour = サワー, etc.
      with longer words (3 or more letters), the last “ー” is sometimes omitted
  • Use -i sounding katakana letter with a “ー” （イー、キー、シー…） for:
    • [iː] sound: me = ミー, heat = ヒート, speech = スピーチ, field = フィールド, receipt = レシート, etc.
      However, many [iː] sounds with a spelling of a single “e” is often treated as an [e] sound
      • emu = エミュー, media = メディア, penis = ペニス, etc.
  • Use -i sounding katakana letter with a “ヤ”（イヤ、キヤ、シヤ…） (traditional)
    or -i sounding katakana letter with an “ア”（イア、キア、シア…）(trendy) for:
    • [iə] sound: idea = アイディヤ or アイディア, etc.
    • [iər] sound: Gere = ギア (as in Richard Gere), clear = クリア, career = キャリア, etc.
      When there is a [r] sound at the end, some people put a prolonged vowel bar, “ー,” at the end of the word.
  • Use -u sounding katakana letter with a “ー” （ウー、クー、ツー…） for:
    • [uː] sound: two/too/to = ツー (customary) /トゥー (rare), school = スクール, soup = スープ, etc.
  • Use -u sounding katakana letter with an “ア” or “アー”（ウア/ウアー、クア/クアー、スア/スアー…）for:
    • [uər] sound: poor = プア/プアー, tour = ツアー, etc.
    • [juər] sound: pure = ピュア, cure = キュア, amateur = アマチュア, etc. (You need to choose the correct consonant with [j] included)
  • Use -e sounding katakana letter with a “ー” （エー、ケー、セー…）(traditional)
    or -e sounding letter with an “イ” （エイ、ケイ、セイ） (trendy) for:
    • [ei] sound: cake = ケーキ (customary), brake = ブレーキ (customary),  rain = レイン, bay = ベイ, break = ブレイク/ブレーク, eight = エイト, grey = グレイ/グレー, etc.
  • Use -e sounding katakana letter with an “ア”（エア、ケア、セア…）for:
    • [eər] sound: care = ケア, hair = ヘア, pear = ペア, etc.
  • Use -o sounding katakana letter with a “ー” （オー、コー、ソー…） for:
    • [ɔː] sound: ball = ボール, Paul = ポール, sauce = ソース, law school = ロースクール, doughnuts = ドーナツ (customary, 1 doughnut is also ドーナツ), etc.
    • [ou] sound: home = ホーム, toast = トースト, flow chart = フローチャート, etc.
    • [ɔːr] sound (usually followed by a consonant): sports = スポーツ, shorts = ショーツ, cord = コード, etc.
  • Use -o sounding katakana letter with an “ア”（オア、コア、ソア…）for:
    • [ɔər] sound: core = コア, shore = ショア, more = モア, door = ドア, etc.
  • Use -o sounding katakana letter with an “イ”（オイ、コイ、ソイ…）for:
    • [ɔi] sound: joy = ジョイ, oil = オイル, voice = ボイス, etc.

Section D: Adjust the spelling

  • Other occasions the prolonged vowel bar “ー” is used
    • If a word ends with the spelling of “-age”, even if the pronunciation of the “a” in “-age” is not [ai] sound, the katakana transliteration ends in e-sounding letter with －ジ. This includes アドバンテージ for advantage, イメージ for image, ガレージ for garage, コテージ for cottage, ステージ for stage, ストレージ for storage, ダメージ for damage, パッケージ for packageボルテージ for voltage, マネージ for manage, メッセージ for message, ヴィンテージ/ビンテージ for vintage, etc.
      (NOT with マッサージ for massage and カモフラージュ for camouflage as they originates in French.)
  • “um” part of “-ium” ending is often written with “ウム though some words are written with アム
    • アルミニウム for aluminium、カルシウム for calcium、サナトリウム for sanatorium、シンポジウム for symposium、トリチウム for tritium、プラネタリウム for planetarium
    • スタジアム for stadium、プレミアム for premium、ミディアム for medium、ミュージアム for museum、ミレニアム for millennium、モラトリアム for moratorium
  • “cial” and “tial” is usually written シャル
    • コマーシャル for commercial, ソーシャル for social, etc.
    • エッセンシャル for essential, ポテンシャル for potential, etc.
  • “tion” is usually spelt with ション and or “sion” is ション or ジョン depending on how the “s” is pronounced.
    • アテンション for attention, キャプション for caption, プロモーション for promotion, etc.
    • コンカッション for concussion, パッション for passion, マンション for mansion, etc.
    • エクスカージョン for excursion, テレビジョン for television, フュージョン for fusion, etc.
  • “ture” is often spelt with チャ/チャー
    • アーキテクチャ for architecture, シグネチャ for signature, ネイチャー for nature, etc. (“ー” is often skipped in a longer word.)

Section E: When to use a small ッ

As a rule of thumb, the Katakana small ッ is used only in front of [k], [g], [s], [ʃ], [z], [ʒ], [ʤ], [t], [ʧ], [d], [f], [b], [p], [v] and [ks] sounds, (i.e. it is not used in front of a vowel letter or a letter which belongs to n, h, m, y, r/l or w line letters) although there are a few exceptions.

  • A single syllable word with a short vowel followed by a single [k], [s], [ʃ], [ʒ], [ʤ], [dz], [t], [ʧ], [d], [f], [p] or [ks] sound. ッ is usually inserted after the vowel.
    • ショック for shock, キャッスル for castle, キャッシュ for cash, ブリッジ for bridge, キッズ for kids, チャット for chat, スクラッチ for scratch, ベッド for bed, スタッフ for staff, ドロップ for drop, アップル for apple, マックス for max, etc
      • If the short vowel is followed by one of [n], [ŋ], [h], [b], [m], [j], [r], [l], [v] or [w], no ッ is used. This include パンチ for punch, ソング for song, アンプ for amp, ギャル for gal, ピル for pill, etc.
      • If more than one [k], [s], [ʃ], [z], [ʒ], [ʤ], [t], [ʧ], [d], [f], [p] or [ks] sound is used in combination (except for [k][s] = [ks]) after the short vowel sound, no ッ is used. This include アクト for act, ソフト for soft, タスク for task, マスト for mast, etc.
      • If the vowel is long, the prolonged vowel bar “ー” is used instead, such as トーチ for torch, バード for bird
    • You need to be careful with words ending in the [g] sound.
      • Short words without ッ： ギグ for gig, ギャグ for (pulling a) gag, タグ for tag, バグ for (computer) bug, ブログ for blog, ログ for log, etc.
      • Short words with ッ：ウィッグ for wig, エッグ for egg, スモッグ for smog, デバッグ for debug, ドッグ for dog, ドラッグ for drug, バッグ for bag, ビッグ for big, ピッグ for pig, フロッグ for frog, レッグ for leg, etc.
      • Both are used: フラグ/フラッグ for flag, タグ/タッグ for tag/tug, etc.
  • If an ENGLISH word ends in a short / simple vowel + orphan [k], [ks], [sh], [t], [ts], [d] or [p] sound (with no vowel following), its katakana transliteration ends in ック、ックス、ッシュ、ット、ッツ、ッド or ップ respectively.
    • アカデミック for academic, アトランティック for Atlantic, エコノミック for economic, トラフィック for traffic, etc
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before [k] sound. This includes キオスク for kiosk, グロテスク for grotesque, トランク for trunk, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [k] sound is long and/or combined. This includes アンティーク for antique, スモーク for smoke, マーク for mark, etc.
    • アネックス for annex, クライマックス for climax, コミックス for comics, etc.
      • ッ is often omitted in a longer word (generally speaking 5 Katakana letters without ｯ), such as: エコノミクス for economics, エアロビクス for aerobics, etc.
    • イングリッシュ for English, リフレッシュ for refresh, etc.
      • パラシュート does not have a ッ because シュ sound is not at the end of the word
    • アウトプット for output, インターネット for internet, etc.
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before [t] sound. This includes アクト for act, インストルメント for instrument, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [t] sound is long and/or combined. This includesウェイト for weight
    • ココナッツ for coconuts (though ココナツ is also OK), ス ピリッツ for spirits, ドーナッツ for doughnuts (though ドーナツ is also OK), etc.
    • オーキッド for orchid, サラブレッド for thoroughbred, ハイブリッド for hybrid, etc.
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before [d] sound. This includes エンド for end, オールド for old
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [d] sound is long and/or combined. This includesガード for guard, キーボード for keyboard
    • インターンシップ for internship, チューリップ for tulip, ハンディキャップ for handicap, etc.
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before [p] sound. This includes アンプ for amp, スカルプ for scalp
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [p] sound is long and/or combined. This includesエスケープ for escape, カーブ/カーヴ for carve/curve, etc.
  • If an ENGLISH word ends in a short / simple vowel + [ʤ]sound with no vowel, its katakana transliteration often ends in ッジ, except for when the spelling ends in “-age.”
    • ビレッジ for village, カートリッジ for cartridge, カレッジ for college, etc.
      • If a word ends with the spelling of “-age”, even if it’s pronounce with [iʤ] sound, the katakana transliteration ends in e-sounding letter with －ジ. This includes:
        アドバンテージ for advantage, イメージ for image, エンゲージ for engage, ガレージ for garage, コテージ for cottage, ステージ for stage, ストレージ for storage, ダメージ for damage, パッケージ for package, ボルテージ for voltage, マネージ for manage, メッセージ for message, ヴィンテージ/ビンテージ for vintage, etc.
  • If an ENGLISH word has or ends in a short / simple vowel + orphan [ʧ] or [ʧŋ] sound, its katakana transliteration has or ends in ッチ or ッチング respectively.
    • キャッチ for catch, ノッチ for notch, キッチン for kitchen and サンドイッチ for sandwich, etc.
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before the [ʧ] sound. This includes アクチュアル for actual,  インチ for inch, カルチャー for culture, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [ʧ] sound is long and/or combined. This includes アーチ for arch, コーチ for coach, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the [ʧ] sound is not an orphan (i.e. a vowel follows the [tIPA-esh] sound). This includes アチーブメント for achievement,
      • no ッ is used if the Katakana チ is used for the [ti] sound). This includesイニシアチブ for initiative, エロチック for erotic, シチズン for citizen, etc
  • If an English word ends in a short / simple vowel + “sion/tion,” most words end in ッション. However, the sound before “sion/tion” is ティ, ディ, ビ,  the small ッ is usually skipped.
    • コミッション for commission, クッション for cushion, セッション for session, but コンディション for condition, エキシビション for exhibition
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before [ʃen] sound. This includes アクション for action, アテンション for attention, オプション for option, ディスクリプション for description, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the [ʃen] sound is long and/or combined. This includes ナビゲーション for navigation, プロモーション for promotion, etc.
  • If an English word ends in a short / simple vowel + “-sive,” most words end in ッシブ.
    • アグレッシブ for aggressive, パッシブ for passive, プログレッシブ for progressive. The ending ブ can be swapped with ヴ
      • no ッ is used if an orphan consonant comes before”-sive”. This includes インテンシブ for intensive, etc.
      • no ッ is used if the vowel before the “-sive” is long and/or combined. This includes リカーシブ for recursive, etc.
  • Words made of 2 syllables with stress on the first short vowel. ッ will follow the short vowel with the stress if the consonant immediately after that is not an n, h, m, y, r/l or w line letters. Remember no small ッ in front of n, h, m, y, r/l or w line letters no matter what.
    • エッセイ for essay, エッセンス for essence, カッター for cutter, クッキング for cooking, シャッター for shutter, ショッピング for shopping, ジッパー for zipper, セッション for session, バッテリー for battery, パッシブ for passive, ピッチャー for pitcher, フィッシング for fishing, フィットネス for fitness, フットボール for football, ブッキング for booking, ブックエンド for bookend, ブックレット for booklet, プラットホーム for platform, プレッシャー for pressure, マッサージ for massage, マッシュルーム for mushroom, ミッション for mission, レッスン for lesson
    • Exceptions: バター for butter, マスカットfor muscat, etc.
  • If any of the above words with a small ッ is used as a component of a longer compound word, it is likely the small ッ will be maintained in the middle of a word.
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