Graves in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Graves in katakana

• 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 Graves becomes ス (su). Say it lightly.
• 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.

Graves on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Graves → ジョン・グレイブス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: グレイブス 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 (ぐれいぶす じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｸﾞﾚｲﾌﾞｽ 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 Graves in Japanese?

Graves is usually written グレイブス (gureibusu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see グレイヴス. In hiragana it is ぐれいぶす.

Is there a kanji for Graves?

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.