Humphrey in Japanese Katakana
Humphrey (common English surname) is written ハンフリー — read hanfurī.
ハンフリー
| Katakana | ハンフリー |
|---|---|
| Reading (romaji) | hanfurī |
| Hiragana | はんふりー |
| Half-width katakana | ハンフリー |
Character by character
| Katakana | Hiragana | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ハ | は | ha |
| ン | ん | n |
| フ | ふ | fu |
| リ | り | ri |
| ー | ー | long vowel mark |
Tips for writing Humphrey in katakana
- ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
- 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.
Humphrey on Japanese forms
Example full name: John Humphrey → ジョン・ハンフリー (Western order, names separated by ・).
Most Japanese forms put the family name first: ハンフリー 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 (はんふりー じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ハンフリー ジョン).
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 Humphrey in Japanese?
Humphrey is usually written ハンフリー (hanfurī) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is はんふりー.
Is there a kanji for Humphrey?
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.
Similar names
How spellings are chosen: the first spelling is the one most commonly used for this name in Japanese books, media and everyday writing, checked against the Japanese government's rules for writing foreign words (Cabinet Notice No. 2 of 1991, 外来語の表記). The list was compiled by this site; it is not an official register. Pronunciation matters more than spelling — if your name is pronounced differently, the katakana can differ too.