Burns in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Burns in katakana

• ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
• 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 Burns becomes ズ (zu). 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.

Burns on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Burns → ジョン・バーンズ (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: バーンズ 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 (ばーんず じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ﾊﾞｰﾝｽﾞ 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 Burns in Japanese?

Burns is usually written バーンズ (bānzu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ばーんず.

Is there a kanji for Burns?

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.