The cultural traditions of Japan for a long time developed independently of alien phenomena that took place in European and Asian countries. Thanks to this, a special worldview was formed here that absolutely did not resemble anything, which, in turn, served to create distinctive architectural ensembles, household items, clothing, and even names. Namely Japanese names and their meanings are the main topic of this article. We will examine in detail how children are called in Japan, how their names are translated, and we will also learn the only correct way to translate Russians into Japanese.
How names were given in Japan: a bit of history
The history of the creation of names in Japan has its roots in those days when there was no clear class division in society. What is known is how Japanese names were created in a later period. Men, for example, carried information about the order in which sons were born in the family, but women were more diverse. By the 3rd century BC, a society began to form in the state, in which the division by the degree of wealth and the position held in society was clearly noticeable. The names of those who were close to the ruling elite necessarily contained the particle “uji” or “uji”, and the component of the name “be” was peculiar to people who had to do dirty and very hard work every day.
It is worth noting that the Japanese girls' names rarely contained the components mentioned above, which rank them in a certain category of the population. In most cases, parents gave their daughters names that combined abstract concepts such as love, kindness, light and color, as well as the names of animals and plants.
Female Japanese Name Structure
Oddly enough, but female Japanese names have not changed much since ancient times. Still, parents give one of them to their daughter based on what qualities they want to see in her. Therefore, the names of girls and women are most easily translated from Japanese. This feature also allows you to easily understand the meaning embedded in them.
Without exception, all Japanese girl names consist of several parts:
- basic, including abstract meaning (color, feeling, etc.);
- additional, consisting of the name of the animal or plant;
- exponential, which most often matters age, height or features of appearance.
Ancient and modern female names in Japan
As mentioned above, the Japanese names of girls have changed little over the past 5 centuries. However, paying tribute to fashion, many women prefer to “shorten” their names by removing the last, significant component. Most often, modern Japanese girls get rid of the suffix "ko", which translates as "child". At the same time, components like ka, meaning flower, and , era, became popular. It is worth noting that such a reduction has little effect on Japanese names, and their meanings in this case do not change their meaning.
The meaning of female names
To fully understand how a female name is formed in Japan, it is enough to consider several common examples in which all the necessary components are present. First, we give a few of them, the structure of which contains the names of plants and fruits. The meaning of Japanese female names belonging to this group most often lies in the “sweetness”, necessity and external beauty of the child. The names Anzu (“apricot”), Kaede (“maple leaf”), Michie (“elegant flowering flower”), Nana (“apple”), Umeko (“child of a plum flower”) can rightly be attributed to this.
Modern female Japanese names are also often formed using the names of various natural phenomena: Kasumi (“fog or fog”), Arahsi (“whirlwind, storm”), Tsuyu (“morning dewdrop”). In addition, in Japan, daughters are often called according to the time of their birth: Akiko ("autumn child"), Haruko ("spring child"), Yayoi ("born in March"). Often the name for a girl is a completely abstract concept: Asuka (“the fragrance of the future”), Kiyoko (“purity, innocence”), Mariko (“child of truth”), Nozomi (“hope”), Yoshiko (“perfection”), Yori ( "the trust").
The most popular Japanese names for girls
Female Japanese names and their meanings, which make a lot of sense, play a big role today. Nowadays, they are chosen on the principle of harmony and influence on the fate of the girl. The most popular female names in Japan in recent years are: Kichi, which means “beautiful,” Maemi, “genuine smile,” Machi, “ten millennia,” Sorano, “heavenly,” and Tomiko, “child of wealth.” In addition, names consonant with European ones are gaining popularity: Gin - “silver”, Mika - “new moon”, Riko - “baby from a jasmine flower”, and Tani - “born in the valley”.
Male Japanese Name Structure
The meaning of male Japanese names today has a deep meaning, which includes information on the type of activity of the ancestors of the child. As in the deep past, they must contain information about the order in which the boy was born. In the name of the first-born there is an element “kazu”, and in the second and third child - “ji” and “zo”, respectively. What else do Japanese names include? Male, unlike female, are not so melodic and simple in pronunciation. Nevertheless, there are many elements in their composition that denote the qualities of a person: character, abilities, external data.
Japanese male names: meaning
We will get acquainted with several groups of names that are characterized by various phenomena or abilities. As mentioned above, the sequence of birth is of great importance in their choice among the Japanese. The first sons are often given the name Taro (firstborn) or Ichiro (if a girl was born before the boy). The second male child is called Kenji and so on. In large families, comes to the assignment of the name Goro (fifth) and even Shichiro (seventh).
Very often, Japanese male names and their meanings are tied to any forces: Daiki - “a great tree”, Katsuo - “a victorious child”, Mashiro - “wide”, Raidon - “commanding thunder”, Takeshi - “brave”. Names that carry information about the character or abilities of a child are also very popular: Benjiro - “enjoying the world”, Hikaru - “shining”, Kanaye - “zeal”, Masa - “direct or straightforward”, Toshiro - “talented”, Saniiro is “wonderful.” The least common in Japan were male names for natural phenomena, plants and animals: Roka - “wave crest”, Yudsuki - “crescent” and Udo - “ginseng”.
Beautiful names for Japanese boys
Parents, regardless of the country in which the child is born, always try to give the baby a name that will caress the hearing. This also applies to male names in Japan. The list of the most beautiful, and therefore popular in this state, values ​​is quite extensive. So, we will get acquainted with the most beautiful, according to the Japanese people, male names: Akajo - “smart man”, Joshajto - “good, kind man”, Setoshi - “wise, possessor of a clear mind”, Makoto - “true, real man”. Recently, those that are worn by the heroes of various films, animes and comics have become very popular: Sota - "big", Ren - "lotus", Haruto - "sunny", Riku - "earthly firmament".
Russian names in Japanese: how to translate your name
Modern youth very often seeks to take a creative pseudonym or just a middle name, which will more clearly characterize them as a person. Often, as such, aliases with Japanese roots are used. This is due to the fact that their sound is always more melodic than that of European ones. A literal translation of the name into Japanese in this case is not always possible, especially if you want to keep the existing meaning.
It is worth noting that the Japanese themselves use the Katakana alphabet to designate their own names of foreigners, each character of which designates a particular syllable. European or Russian names written using this alphabet do not carry a semantic load, but only convey their sound.
To write Japanese names, hieroglyphs of the Hiragana syllabic alphabet are used, which not only indicate their pronunciation, but also have a special meaning. In most cases, Russian names written with the help of Hiragana represent a completely dissonant combination (according to the Japanese themselves) or are even indecent expressions.
If you want to translate your name into Japanese, as well as spelling it with the help of the hieroglyphs of Hiragana, it is better to first learn its meaning in Roman, Greek, Latin, Jewish or other languages. Only by setting the indicators that are part of the name (character traits, external features, names of animals, birds and plants), you can start translating each component into Japanese. Names translated in this way can be written in Hiragana characters without loss or distortion of meaning, however, the sound component will be completely changed.