Gilbert in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Gilbert in katakana

• ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
• Japanese has a single sound for English L and R, so both are written with the ラ-row (ra, ri, ru, re, ro).
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Gilbert becomes ト (to). 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.

Gilbert on Japanese forms

Example full name: Gilbert Smith → ギルバート・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス ギルバート. 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 ぎるばーと); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ｷﾞﾙﾊﾞｰﾄ).

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 Gilbert in Japanese?

Gilbert is usually written ギルバート (girubāto) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ぎるばーと.

Is there a kanji for Gilbert?

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.