Stephens in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Stephens 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 ィ at about half size, in the lower left of the square (in horizontal writing). ティ is one sound, ti.
• ソ (so) and ン (n) look alike. In ソ the long stroke falls from the top right; in ン it rises from the bottom left.
• Japanese syllables end in a vowel (except ン), so the final consonant of Stephens becomes ス (su). Say it lightly.
• 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.

Stephens on Japanese forms

Example full name: John Stephens → ジョン・スティーブンス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スティーブンス 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 (すてぃーぶんす じょん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾃｨｰﾌﾞﾝｽ 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 Stephens in Japanese?

Stephens is usually written スティーブンス (sutībunsu) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see スティーヴンス. In hiragana it is すてぃーぶんす.

Is there a kanji for Stephens?

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.