Robert in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Robert in katakana

• ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
• 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 Robert becomes ト (to). 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.

Robert on Japanese forms

Example full name: Robert Smith → ロバート・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス ロバート. 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 ろばーと); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ﾛﾊﾞｰﾄ).

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 Robert in Japanese?

Robert is usually written ロバート (robāto) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ろばーと.

Is there a kanji for Robert?

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.