Banks in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Banks in katakana

• ソ (so) and ン (n) look alike. In ソ the long stroke falls from the top right; in ン it rises from the bottom left.
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Banks becomes ス (su). Say it lightly.
• Katakana is written left to right like English, or top to bottom in vertical text. Keep every character the same size except the small ones.

Banks on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Banks → ジョン・バンクス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: バンクス ジョン. In a フリガナ (furigana) field write it in katakana; if the field says ふりがな use hiragana (ばんくす じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ﾊﾞﾝｸｽ ｼﾞｮﾝ).

Japan has no official katakana spelling for foreign names. Once you use a spelling for a bank account, phone contract or employer, keep using the same one so your records match.

FAQ

How do you write Banks in Japanese?

Banks is usually written バンクス (bankusu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ばんくす.

Is there a kanji for Banks?

No. Foreign names have no official kanji; they are written in katakana. Kanji versions offered online (ateji) are chosen only for sound and look, and their "meanings" are made up, so this site does not provide them.