My name in kanji
 

Hi, I'm trying to learn to write my name in kanji. I found a site once that had information on this, and found a translation of my name (Jacob) that I liked. For some reason the site said Jacob means "may God protect", while in reality it means "he who grabs by the heel". Never the less, I am trying to take what I can get. Here is the kanji:

It is supposed to mean "benevolence which cures, protects, and helps = may God protect". However, I do not know how to pronounce this. If I could type it, I could know, but I can figure out a couple of the characters. I don't even know if it's supposed to be said as "Jeikobu", or "Yakobu". I remember my sensei telling me she didn't think there were any kanji for "jei", and so it would be better to use "Yakobu". Still, the site I found (can't remember the link now) literally said "ジェイコブ / じぇいこぶ" (Jeikobu (in katakana and hiragana)).

Can anyone help me learn how to read this?

If you have a Japanese teacher that tells you that you can write Jacob in kanji, you need to get a new teacher.

Ask 100 Japanese people to read that kanji and you will get 1000 different answers how to read it, and none of the will be anything close to Jacob.

I said it before and I will say it again, unless your native languages uses kanji, you don't get to have kanji in your name.

It depends. That's the only way I have seem Yoneyama written, so unless your family had an obscure way of writing it, chances are it is right. However some names can be written many different ways, and, on the other side, some names are difficult to read.

Just out of my own curiosity, your name comes from the biblical story where the second son is chosen instead of the first, right? Cause that's what strikes me as familiar about that meaning.

Don't speak badly of my sensei. She is as Japanese as they come. She was born and raised in Japan, lived there for a large part of her life, and is a terrific teacher who taught me most of what I know about the Japanese language. She said my name can be written in kanji, but she did say I should use "Yakobu" (the same name, accept it comes from "Yakov" (the original Hebrew name), not "Jacob", the English transliteration) since there's no kanji for "Jei" (as in "Jeikobu"). I know that people can get their names done in kanji. I've heard that even people in Japan can do that for you. Besides, if so many sites talk about it, I doubt it's false. BTW, my sensei didn't give me the site that kanji came from (the one I mentioned); I found that one myself.

Yes, that's right. Jacob was the second son of Isaac. He tricked his father into giving him his older brother Esau's birthright. The story is found in Genesis 25:19-28:9. ^^

Don't try to pass off your teacher's mistakes just because she's Japanese. You are not Japanese... you cannot write your name in anything but Katakana without it being read as nonsense. Listen to MMM... he's the most knowledgeable person (besides Nagoyankee) about Japanese that I've seen on these boards.

I'll give you a real life advertisment example in Japan.

YouTube - Japanese commercial

Please watch the clip from 1:31 to 1:46 and see why reading Kanji can be too haphazard for foreign loanwords today.

I would have told you exactly what MMM did. I'm a native speaker and have lived in Japan for many a decade since birth. Your name won't be written in kanji in Japan, period.

How much you love your teacher has nothing to do with this fact. She couldn't possibly say what she said in a classroom in Japan. The students know better and their parents know better. The other teachers know better as well. Sadly, over where you are, no one knows better.

Why do you even think we created katakana? Yes, so that we can write your name. Try doing something great (or horrible) so that you will be able to see how your name will be written in Japanese newspapers. You AREN'T going to see 治恵護輔 or any other kanji combo.　You will see ジェイコブ or　ジェーコブ.

Truth hurts, but that's life. You (or your teacher or those silly websites you speak of) are not about to change the way we write Japanese. It's already perfect in its own way as all other natural languages are.

thank god my names in japanese

Jacob could, of course, adopt a Japanese name. I did this while abroad because I got tired of カイル／カエル mistakes.

This must be possible, because the Japanese government used to even require such for people becoming naturalized (you were required to take a Japanese surname). It's not required anymore, but there are people who still do. Arudo Debito is a famous example: Debito Arudou - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. If I were forced to do the same, I could easily adopt the name 小川じん because my first name means the same as Ogawa (a strait/small river) and my last name means "God," which in a first name could be Jin. I just feel weird actually writing 小川神, so I'd choose to stick with kana.

If you do this, it may be possible to choose a similar name. Jacob is the second son in a famous story, so maybe 次郎 or 二郎. ;)

However, if you really want a kanji name that badly, start studying Chinese and adopt a transliteration there, since that's the only way to write your name in that language.

Franky, I'm a little shocked by Nagoyankee's response. I studied at a Japanese university in Tokyo, and a respected professor of Japanese history there created kanji names for each foreign student in one of our small classes. This wasn't at the behest of any student there, but of his own initiative. This indicates it's at least considered acceptable by some learned Japanese people, as there was no evidence of student pressure to do so.

In any case, the kanji name you have proposed is definitely unusable in Japan. As no one has answered you yet, if I were presented with that 4-character compound, I would read it as "jiegoho" or "jiegofu" and then ask wtf it means. For reference, the characters mean, in order: govern/cure, grace/kindness, protect, assist. There's no clear way on how to pronounce that compound, though. The first can be read as ji/chi, the second as kei/e, the third as go, the fourth as ho/fu. I'm sure there are other readings, but those are the ones I know.

Jeicobu
I think searching kanji for your name is one good way for studying kanji.
There are certain people who use Kanji for their name.
Half blooded people and naturalized people commonly use kanji for their name.
Nowadays many Japanese people make western-sounding names with kanji for their sons and daughters(!).

There is no kanji that is pronounced "jei", most people use mixture of "ji" and "ei" like Jay Kabira / 川平慈英(TV talent).

治 [ji/chi/osamu]administration, cure
恵 [kei/e/megumi]give/（God’ｓ）bless
護 [go/mamoru]defence/security
輔 [ho/fu/suke]help/assistance
*red letter words are Kun-yomi reading.

This kanji name sounds "ji-e-go-ho" for common Japanese but I think it is acceptable range for pronouncing as "jeikobu".

Nonetheless, I think it is unnatural to use four kanji or above for one personal name.

Minmin, you're missing the point. His name is not Japanese and therefore cannot be written in Kanji. This is why they have Katakana.

ジェコブ　（ジェコーブ） is the only correct way you can write his name.

Yeah, I know you mean. but I dont think I am missing the point.
Even katakana cannot describe accurate pronunciation. And kanji name for each person is allowed to read　in special way in certain range.
There are many Japanese whose name cannot be read by even native Japanese.

Haha. If I had to do it all over again, I'd be born in Japan with the name 鬮. Boy, wouldn't that be fun!

But katakana IS accurate pronunciation...it is accurate pronunciation in Japanese.

Foreigners using Japanese have to adapt to Japanese's rules. Not the other way around.

That is why ジェコーブ IS accurate pronunciation and is also why it cannot be written in kanji.

In fact, you could not use 鬮 for your name because of limitation called jinmeiyo kanji.

Jinmeiyō kanji - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On the other hand, there is no limitation for reading kanji of individual name.

There is an increase in Japanese boys and girls who named with western pronunciation such as Mike(舞空), Kent(謙人/健斗), John(路恩). Of course I don't like this tendency, lol.

See this site.
DQN

You would find many western name given to real native Japanese, lol.

The rule you referred is NOT the real rule I think, it is just a habit.
Of course I think it is right to use katakana in business or formal situation, but we dont have to mind for private use such as screen name or nickname among our friends.

I know many friends who play Japanese Budo, and some of them use kanji for his name and stitch on their Dougi. Once I made combination of kanji for a friend who is ninja master living in Greece.

There are practices, such as sumo, which require the participant to have a Japanese name. In these cases wrestlers do adopt Japanese names, but not in the way Jacob did, but finding kanji that can make the sounds that make his name.

If you want to play with kanji, that is fine, but don't expect Japanese people to be able to read or understand what is written. That is the nature of kanji when you try to bend it to meet your own, personal needs.

So it really seems we all agree: It's technically possible to have a kanji version of your name. It just may be counterproductive unless your name is Ken (shortened version of Kenneth) and you take a name like 健.

Am I missing something here? I mean, there is a Japanese citizen from the US whose first name in English is David, and his Japanese name contains 出人 (debito, legally). At one point his legal Japanese name was registered as 菅原有道出人 (すがわら　あるどうでびと) because he married a Sugawara and they wanted their kids to have a Japanese surname. So it's legally possible and practically possible (he goes by the first name 出人 in Japan).

Yes, it is legally possible to do this, and if Jacob wants to go through the proper government channels to register his name in Japanese then I am all for it.

We would tend to confuse two things despite defferent things.
Jacob wants to describe his name by kanji, but that is different thing from whether he wants to resister as a legal name.

I dont know whether Jay Kabira uses kanji 慈英 legally, but most Japanese look at 川平慈英 and read "Kabira Jei" because they already have memorized the reading of his name.

Anyway, I think 出人 is made with good sence, better than 出備度 or so despite inaccurate in reading because it is simple and using easy kanji, so cool.

Yeah, but don't you think that's because he's a celebrity?

I don't think any Japanese would be able to read 治恵護輔 at all. He will have to put the furigana to it, which the kanji lovers outside of Japan would hate to do anyway. That's a lot of writing just for the first name!

Like I said, we seem to agree that he can do it linguistically and orthographically, but also that it's stupid to do anyway. Kind of like how it's legal and physically possible to french a dog, but it's still pretty dumb.

Nagoyankee,
I dont think so, every spcial readings of Japanese human name can be read after second time and furigana is not so corny.

Kilegoetz,
Like I said, I dont agree that it is stupid.

Famous people's obscure names become part of the national vernacular when they become famous. At first many Japanese had a hard time with the obscure Okinawa names during the Okinawa singer boom that began in the early to mid 90s, but now names like 安室 奈美恵 are read easily. Why? Because she is one of the most famous and popular singers of the two decades. Furigana is common on business cards when names aren't obvious.

And regarding your last comment, it isn't stupid, it just isn't Japanese. Imagine if Ichiro Suzuki declared his name was now "Robert". How do you think Americans would react? Does it still sound not stupid?

When I arrived in Japan I was given a hanko stamp with my name in kanji. My name is far from anything normally used in Japanese, but for some reason people seem to have little trouble reading it.

It is completely possible to get your western name written in Japanese, but more than likely no Japanese would know which pronunciation to use, unless you used kanji with only a single phonetic sound.

If you live in Japan long enough, and manage to get permanent residency, you can choose any Japanese name you like; you could call yourself "Miyamoto Musashi" if you wanted, and get it printed in your passport and on your license...

Well, minminRW, I think choosing a 4- or 5-kanji first name (there's still a last name to have!) is pretty life-destroying. I can't imaginine writing 70+ strokes on every school homework just for your full name.

MMM,
Ichiro is called Ichiro, but Takashi Saito is called "Sammy".
I know many people who are called with western-styled name such as "Roger" or "Terry", I think that may be because of request by English speaker.

Sangetsu,
Using twisted kanji is good idea. Though it is difficult...

Kylegoetz,
I agree that 1-3 kanji name is natural and functional.
BTW, there is another way to make Kanji name. Some people make their name by transration of meaning.
My teacher Littlemore said to students "You can also call me Koike-san because more means pond in old English.".

The name Sammy was given to Takashi Saito by his teammates. That's different thatn if he said "my name is Samuel" or "my name is 'Collection-of-random-non-name-words-mashed-together'"

That's fine, except if you were an actual member of the Koike family [Kazuo Koike is a famous manga writer and novelist] and might not appreciate people appropriating your name. It would be a little like if a Japanese person declared their last name was Kennedy or Baldwin.

The only way to get a real name that you can use in Chinese characters is to pick it in Chinese, not in Japanese where Kanji has some kind of "special" status attached.

Jacob - 捷克布

There ya go. Sounds pretty close in Chinese, a bit off in Japanese (Onyomi) but at least you can use it without getting a backlash.

MMM, I think immigrants to the US adopt English names all the time. My high school friends' birth names were things like Chun-yu, Yan-ting, etc. Yet they all went by names like Adam, Lisa, etc. even though their legal name wasn't that. Note that you've moved from criticizing the use of kanji in a non-Japanese writing his name to criticizing a non-Japanese person adopting a name more popular in his new home country. My example here seems to argue well against your second point, and my Arudo Debito point seems to argue well against your first point.

We're still left only with that it's possible in every way, but choosing a long transliteration can be very harmful to the wrist.

And honestly, if a Japanese person is upset that you're using the same last name that he has, he can go suck an egg. You're required to take a Japanese name when you naturalize. Is it illegal to adopt a Japanese name that already exists? No: because I don't think having the same name as someone who isn't related to you isn't so great a problem as you make it out to be.

Of course, if you take the name Koike and then claim to be related to Kazuo Koike, that's a problem, but not a problem of last name, but a problem of going beyond that and affirmatively claiming relation. I don't think when Japanese people meet a Hamasaki they assume the person is related to Ayumi Hamasaki.

Here's another example.

A famous Anglo-Canadian comedian living in China Mark Henry Rowswell already has a Hanzi (Kanji in Mandarin) name. He is called 大山 (dàshān) in Chinese. His Hanzi name is not even based on his English name.

Shou-Koku-Fu is how I would read that in Onyomi (though I am not a native).

Points well taken, Kyle. I may have stretched my argument too far. I would maintain that he isn't going to find kanji that universally read "jacob" or anything near it...especially with the generally used name kanji. And if he chooses kanji that aren't generally name kanji or are decidedly NOT name kanji it won't even appear as a name to the general Japanese eye, but look like Chinese and/or gibberish. And what's the point of that?

I agree with you there, MMM. I would counsel against creating a Japanese name for oneself, especially without help from a native. Better to just go with the katakana transliteration (or, in some cases, adopt a "real" Japanese name in the case of naturalization or if Japanese people have trouble with your transliterated name for some reason).

That is good idea.
I checked translation way of Jacob in Chinese,
Jacob - 雅各,雅各布
is used for even American people instead of difference of pronunciation.
(ya-ge-bu)

MMM, this is Chinese. not Japanese on-yomi.　
捷克布 in English, 捷克布 translation by Nciku Dictionary

I was wondering, what would Derick be in kanji? My friend wants to get a tattoo of his name, but katakana doesn't really look as nice. Chinese is fine if anybody knows... Also, I guess the name Derick means "power of the tribe" if there is any corresponding kanji meanings there.

Did you even read any of this thread?

Never mind. Have him go with 出陸 so people will point and say Why does he have "jutting landmass" tattooed on his arm?

lol, jutting landmass, thats just awesome. My friend has kanji on both her arms and i always joke they mean Dumb American lolz

I did read it actually. I realize in japanese katakana is best etc. However, foreigners have to have their names in Chinese kanji right? Because there is no katakana in chinese. I realize katakana is the best way, etc. but it does not look as good, as i said above.