Holmes in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Holmes in katakana

• ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Holmes becomes ズ (zu). 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.

Holmes on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Holmes → ジョン・ホームズ (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: ホームズ 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 (ほーむず じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ﾎｰﾑｽﾞ 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 Holmes in Japanese?

Holmes is usually written ホームズ (hōmuzu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ほーむず.

Is there a kanji for Holmes?

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.