Calvin in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Calvin 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 has a single sound for English L and R, so both are written with the ラ-row (ra, ri, ru, re, ro).
• The V sound can be written with ヴ or with the バ-row (ba, bi, bu, be, bo). Both are accepted by the 1991 rules; the バ-row is more common in everyday writing.
• 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.

Calvin on Japanese forms

Example full name: Calvin Smith → カルビン・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス カルビン. In a フリガナ (furigana) field write it in katakana; if the field says ふりがな use hiragana (すみす かるびん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ｶﾙﾋﾞﾝ).

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 Calvin in Japanese?

Calvin is usually written カルビン (karubin) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see カルヴィン. In hiragana it is かるびん.

Is there a kanji for Calvin?

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.