Manami or Aimi?
 

Hello all,

I was wondering which is the correct way to read " 愛美 " ? I know 愛 is "ai" and "美" is "mi", so I thought it would be read together as "aimi". However I've read that it should instead be read as the name "manami". Could somebody explain why that is? I would appreciate it ! thank you.

The only reason I could think of as a Japanese speaker is that あいみ simply sounds terrible in our ears. It isn't something one could 'explain'. Certain sound combinations will always sound terrible in some languages.

That said, you heard wrong when you read that 愛美 should or shouldn't be read a certain way. We are discussing people's first names, not regular words. Get this. Japanese Civil Laws allow you to read any kanji anything you want when you name your babies, period. Ignore anyone who tells you otherwise.

So, there could be a person whose name is 愛美 and it's read あいみ.　One of my old friends' given name is 大 and it's read ふとし.

wow, that's very interesting! i think that allows people in japan a lot of room for creativity when they are naming their child. thank you for your answer, Sashimister!

It does BUT not too many people take advantage of that law. This is because if you are too creative, no one will be able to read your kid's name.
This means s/he will spend lots of time telling people how his/her name is read, which could be a pain when you'll have to do it for 80 years.

I'm going to name my kid 一郎, pronounced ッッッッッッル