Gonzalez in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Gonzalez 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).
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Gonzalez 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.

Gonzalez on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Gonzalez → ジョン・ゴンザレス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: ゴンザレス 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 (ごんざれす じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｺﾞﾝｻﾞﾚｽ 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 Gonzalez in Japanese?

Gonzalez is usually written ゴンザレス (gonzaresu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see ゴンサレス. In hiragana it is ごんざれす.

Is there a kanji for Gonzalez?

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.