Ronald in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Ronald 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 Ronald 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.

Ronald on Japanese forms

Example full name: Ronald Smith → ロナルド・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス ロナルド. 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 ろなるど); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ﾛﾅﾙﾄﾞ).

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 Ronald in Japanese?

Ronald is usually written ロナルド (ronarudo) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is ろなるど.

Is there a kanji for Ronald?

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.