Sharp in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Sharp in katakana

• ー is the long-vowel mark: it stretches the sound before it. In vertical writing it turns into a vertical line.
• Write the small ャ at about half size, in the lower left of the square (in horizontal writing). シャ is one sound, sha.
• シ (shi) and ツ (tsu) look alike. In シ the two short strokes are placed on the left and the long stroke sweeps upward; in ツ the short strokes stand at the top and the long stroke sweeps downward.
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Sharp becomes プ (pu). 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.

Sharp on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Sharp → ジョン・シャープ (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: シャープ 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 (しゃーぷ じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｼｬｰﾌﾟ 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 Sharp in Japanese?

Sharp is usually written シャープ (shāpu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. In hiragana it is しゃーぷ.

Is there a kanji for Sharp?

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.