Ivy in Japanese Katakana
Ivy (common English girl's name) is written アイビー — read aibī.
アイビー
| Katakana | アイビー |
|---|---|
| Reading (romaji) | aibī |
| Hiragana | あいびー |
| Half-width katakana | ｱｲﾋﾞｰ |
| Other spellings | アイヴィー (V written with ヴ instead of the バ-row) |
Character by character
| Katakana | Hiragana | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ア | あ | a |
| イ | い | i |
| ビ | び | bi |
| ー | ー | long vowel mark |
Tips for writing Ivy in katakana
- ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
- 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.
Ivy on Japanese forms
Example full name: Ivy Smith → アイビー・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).
Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス アイビー. 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 あいびー); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ｱｲﾋﾞｰ).
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 Ivy in Japanese?
Ivy is usually written アイビー (aibī) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see アイヴィー. In hiragana it is あいびー.
Is there a kanji for Ivy?
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.