Vivienne in Japanese Katakana

Tips for writing Vivienne in katakana

• Write the small ィ at about half size, in the lower left of the square (in horizontal writing). ヴィ is one sound, vi; ヴィ is one sound, vi.
• 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.
• 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.

Vivienne on Japanese forms

Example full name: Vivienne Smith → ヴィヴィアン・スミス (Western order, names separated by ・).

Most Japanese forms put the family name first: スミス ヴィヴィアン. 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 ゔぃゔぃあん); some bank and card forms ask for half-width katakana (ｽﾐｽ ｳﾞｨｳﾞｨｱﾝ).

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 Vivienne in Japanese?

Vivienne is usually written ヴィヴィアン (vivian) in katakana, the script Japanese uses for foreign names. You may also see ビビアン. In hiragana it is ゔぃゔぃあん.

Is there a kanji for Vivienne?

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.