MacDonald in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing MacDonald 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 MacDonald becomes ド (do). 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.

MacDonald on Japanese forms

Example full name: John MacDonald → ジョン・マクドナルド (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: マクドナルド 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 (まくどなるど じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ﾏｸﾄﾞﾅﾙﾄﾞ 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 MacDonald in Japanese?

MacDonald is usually written マクドナルド (makudonarudo) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is まくどなるど.

Is there a kanji for MacDonald?

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.