Ursula in Japanese Katakana
Ursula (common English girl's name) is written アーシュラ — read āshura.
アーシュラ
| Katakana | アーシュラ |
|---|---|
| Reading (romaji) | āshura |
| Hiragana | あーしゅら |
| Half-width katakana | アーシュラ |
| Other spellings | ウルスラ (another spelling seen in Japan) |
Character by character
| Katakana | Hiragana | Sound |
|---|---|---|
| ア | あ | a |
| ー | ー | long vowel mark |
| シュ | しゅ | shu |
| ラ | ら | ra |
Tips for writing Ursula 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 ュ at about half size, in the lower left of the square (in horizontal writing). シュ is one sound, shu.
- 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 has a single sound for English L and R, so both are written with the ラ-row (ra, ri, ru, re, ro).
- 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.
Ursula on Japanese forms
Example full name: Ursula Smith → アーシュラ・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).
Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス アーシュラ. 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 あーしゅら); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (スミス アーシュラ).
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 Ursula in Japanese?
Ursula is usually written アーシュラ (āshura) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see ウルスラ. In hiragana it is あーしゅら.
Is there a kanji for Ursula?
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.
Similar names
How spellings are chosen: the first spelling is the one most commonly used for this name in Japanese books, media and everyday writing, checked against the Japanese government's rules for writing foreign words (Cabinet Notice No. 2 of 1991, 外来語の表記). The list was compiled by this site; it is not an official register. Pronunciation matters more than spelling — if your name is pronounced differently, the katakana can differ too.