Name in kanji

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by MMM

Since when do people all of a sudden get to give themselves names in kanji?

To be fair, probably since guys with Chinese names got to call themselves some Western name while in the US.

[DanielSheen]

jackie chan, bruce lee.

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by yukikosan

So many questions about my freaking name!!
yuujirou : it is SOOOO not of your business why I changed my name!
I don't have to discuss that part of my life with all of you!

And this haughty attitude is why people hate answering this sort of "my name in Japanese" question here.

What's the problem with my screenname?!

The problem is that you CANNOT add "san" to the end of your own name. Nor can you add "chan" or anything.

Although technically my experience with my Japanese friendgirls suggests it's OK to add ピョン to the end of your own name.

[yukikosan]

Answer to this, all of you : are you all japanese?? What is your nationality??

D*mn you haven't got yet that "yukikosan" is only a SCREEN NAME" ???
It's nit my actual name for god's sake....

Where I come from, many people have or give names from other culture and nobody cares!!

So tell me... Are you japaneses??

[SaintKat]

I'm not Japanese but I'm smart enough to know that you don't add -san on to the end of your own name. Does that answer your question?

What you call yourself is entirely up to you, I couldn't care less. Most posters in this thread (who unlike me actually know how to speak/write Japanese) are actually trying to give you the helpful advice you asked for. Just because it's not to your liking it doesn't make it any less true.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by yukikosan

well, I understand how different yuuki and yuki can sound.
I'll change my choice then..

Your first post didn't indicate that, as you were asking about Yuki, but showing kanji that would be read Yuuki.

Originally Posted by yukikosan

And just WOW!
So many questions about my freaking name!!
yuujirou : it is SOOOO not of your business why I changed my name!
I don't have to discuss that part of my life with all of you!

This may come as a surprise, but you are not the first person to come here asking how to make give yourself kanji in your name.

What you, and all those other folks don't seem to understand is that kanji isn't a font or a fad. It is a writing system with rules, customs and traditions.

One of those rules/customs/traditions is that non-Japanese names are spelled using katakana, not kanji. Period.

So, yes, you are going to get questions about how you are determining you are now a Japanese person.

Originally Posted by yukikosan

chryuop : yukikosan is a screenname right?! a SCREENname... I could have chosen IAMME187238 if I wanted to!
What's the problem with my screenname?! can't I chose the screenname I want when I register to a forum or must I ask permission to the members before!?

You can understand the confusion: You say your name is Yuki, want to use kanji pronounced Yuuki and then have Yukiko in your screen name.

And people don't refer to themselves as "~san".

Originally Posted by yukikosan

Just because you don't understand why I changed my name, LEGALLY, that doesn't give you the right to judge me.

Just know that in Japanese eyes, this is not normal or really accepted unless you have become a Japanese citizen.

Originally Posted by yukikosan

Yes, I didn't know what Yuki meant when I picked it.. BIG DEAL!!!
I didn't know what Nadjat meant either when I gave this name to my little girl!! SO WHAT!
Is that really an issue or what!...

So what? It is strange. That's what.

QUOTE=RickOShay;804782]Yeah, generally I know that it is true, I was simply thinking about foreigners who become Japanese citizens. I believe they have to choose Kanji for their names.[/quote]

I am going to go out on a limb and guess this person is not in the process of becoming a Japanese citizen

Originally Posted by KyleGoetz

To be fair, probably since guys with Chinese names got to call themselves some Western name while in the US.

Originally Posted by DanielSheen

jackie chan, bruce lee.

Bruce Lee was born in the US but was raised in Hong Kong. That's kind of a special case.

The Jackie of "Jackie Chan" is a nickname. He is also from Hong Kong, which was a British Colony at the time, but Jackie is not his legal name.

Regardless, these two internationally famous and popular actors were from Hong Kong, not Japan. Name culture is different there.

Rarely to Japanese people (actors or comedians or not) give themselves Western names. Even more rare is that their legal name. Children of international marriages do sometimes have katakana names, but also have kanji names as well...which makes sense as they are Japanese citizens.

I have taught students from all over Asia, and it is quite common for Thai, Korean, Chinese, HK, Taiwanese, and Singaporean students to adopt a Western nickname. Some did it for religious reasons, some for social reasons. However never have I taught a Japanese student who used anything other than his or her given name.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by yukikosan

Answer to this, all of you : are you all japanese?? What is your nationality??

D*mn you haven't got yet that "yukikosan" is only a SCREEN NAME" ???
It's nit my actual name for god's sake....

Where I come from, many people have or give names from other culture and nobody cares!!

So tell me... Are you japaneses??

I think the real question is : Are YOU Japanese?

[Koir]

Watching this thread shows it is yet another example of the worst the forum can offer, on both sides of the equation.

[yukikosan]

I'm not Japanese and I'm not ashamed to say it, but you seems to be, since you haven't answer...

Are Japaneses that "closed minded" to find it "not normal" that a foreigner have a japanese name ?
In north America and Europe I don't think people care!!
Hey!! My son's name is Klaus!!!! What a shame and a stupid thing, I'm not even German!!!

Seriously...

And i'm gonna add this...
I'm not a freaking teenager who thinks it's so cool to have a name in kanji, why I wanna have my name in kanji is a lot as a RESPECT toward the Japanese people, since I chose a name from their culture. I think the less I can do is to use it the good way japaneses do : in kanji .

End of the line

[KyleGoetz]

Originally Posted by yukikosan

Are Japaneses that "closed minded" to find it "not normal" that a foreigner have a japanese name ?

The answer is, sort of yes. Although it's not an evil kind of nationalism. It's just part of the culture. Trust me: I'm on your site of this debate. When I lived in Japan, I took a Japanese name (my actual name sounds like "frog" in Japanese, and my real name fortunately translates literally into a very common Japanese surname (and a not-so-common given name)) and my friends didn't seem to care (of course, they were my friends, so they wouldn't care!). But others do care very deeply, and they think it is weird.

Really I think it's more that people don't like the objectification of Japanese. And, to a certain extent, not speaking Japanese yet asking how to write your name in kanji is objectification of the language. Sociologists will tell you it is dehumanizing toward Japanese people to treat their language like a toy or a fashion to play around with. While you may not have intended to come off this way, we get so many of that type of request here that it's second nature to assume the worst.

But your reaction to the earlier postings is equally poor. You very much come across like a child, with posts rife with misspellings and and invective. Obviously some level of sloppiness is understood and permitted here and elsewhere on the net. But you're just displaying a callous carelessness. It does bother people, believe it or not.

In north America and Europe I don't think people care!!
Hey!! My son's name is Klaus!!!! What a shame and a stupid thing, I'm not even German!!!

To be fair, when you write "Klaus" in English and German, it's written exactly the same.

Imagine adopting the name "Allah" and expecting Arabic-speaking Muslims to treat you with respect when they find out you've taken that name because "it sounds cool, and I don't know what it means."

why I wanna have my name in kanji is a lot as a RESPECT toward the Japanese people

I've heard this a lot, but without a cultural understanding of Japan, how can it be labeled "respect"?

Can you explain to me why taking a name that means nothing to you is a sign of respect? My name is Gaelic, but I sure don't think my parents were honoring their Irish ancestors by naming me as such!

I think the less I can do is to use it the good way japaneses do : in kanji .

We're telling you that it is completely normal and the regular way of doing things not to use kanji since you are not a Japanese citizen. Like it or not (I don't, particularly), that's the way things are.