Donaldson in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Donaldson 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).
• 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.

Donaldson on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Donaldson → ジョン・ドナルドソン (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: ドナルドソン 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 (どなるどそん じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ﾄﾞﾅﾙﾄﾞｿﾝ 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 Donaldson in Japanese?

Donaldson is usually written ドナルドソン (donarudoson) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is どなるどそん.

Is there a kanji for Donaldson?

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.