Cultural traditions of Japan have long developed independently of alien phenomena that took place in European and Asian countries. Thanks to this, a special worldview was formed here, absolutely unlike anything else, which, in turn, served to create original architectural ensembles, household items, clothes, and even names. It is Japanese names and their meanings that are the main topic of this article. We will take a closer look at how children are called in Japan, how the names given to them are translated, and we will also find out the only correct way to translate Russians into Japanese.
How names were given in Japan: a bit of history
The history of the creation of names in Japan goes back to the times when there was no clear class division in society yet. It is only known how Japanese names were created in a later period. Men's, for example, carried information about the order in which sons were born in the family, but women's were more diverse. By the 3rd century BCthe state began to form a society in which there was clearly a noticeable division according to the degree of prosperity and the position held in society. The names of those who were close to the ruling elite necessarily contained the particle "uji" or "uji", and the component of the name "bae" was characteristic of people who had to do dirty and very hard work every day.
It is worth noting that Japanese girls' names rarely contained the components mentioned above, classifying them as a certain category of the population. In most cases, parents gave their daughters names that combined abstract concepts such as love, goodness, light and color, as well as the names of animals and plants.
Structure of a female Japanese name
Strange as it may seem, female Japanese names have hardly changed since ancient times. Still, parents give one of them to their daughter based on what qualities they want to see in her. Therefore, the names of girls and women are most easily translated from Japanese. This feature also makes it easy to understand the meaning attached to them.
Without exception, Japanese girl names consist of several parts:
- basic, including abstract meaning (color, feeling, etc.);
- additional, consisting of the name of an animal or plant;
- indicative, which most often matters age, height or appearance.
Ancient and modern female names in Japan
Howalready mentioned above, Japanese girl names have changed little over the past 5 centuries. However, paying tribute to fashion, many women prefer to "shorten" their names by removing the last, indicative component. Most often, modern Japanese girls get rid of the suffix "ko", which translates as "child". At the same time, components such as "ka" meaning "flower" and "yo" meaning era became popular. It is worth noting that this abbreviation has little effect on Japanese names, and their meanings in this case do not change their meaning.
Meaning of female names
To fully understand how a female name is formed in Japan, it is enough to consider a few common examples that contain all the necessary components. To begin with, here are a few of them, the structure of which contains the names of plants and fruits. The meaning of Japanese female names belonging to this group most often lies in the "sweetness", usefulness and outward beauty of the child. These include the names Anzu ("apricot"), Kaede ("maple leaf"), Michie ("graceful flowing flower"), Nana ("apple"), Umeko ("child of the plum blossom").
Modern Japanese female names are also often formed using the names of various natural phenomena: Kasumi ("fog or misty"), Arahsi ("whirlwind, storm"), Tsuyu ("morning dew"). In addition, in Japan, daughters are often named according to the time of their birth: Akiko ("autumn child"), Haruko ("spring child"), Yayoi ("born in March"). Often, a completely abstract concept serves as a name for a girl: Asuka (“aromafuture"), Kiyoko ("purity, innocence"), Mariko ("child of truth"), Nozomi ("hope"), Yoshiko ("perfection"), Yori ("trust").
Most Popular Japanese Girls Names
Japanese female names and their meanings, which have a lot of meaning, still play a big role today. Nowadays, they are chosen according to the principle of harmony and influence on the fate of the girl. The most popular female names in Japan in recent years have been: Kichi, which means "beautiful", Maemi - "genuine smile", Machi - "ten thousand years", Sorano - "heavenly", and Tomiko - "child of we alth". In addition, names consonant with European ones are gaining popularity: Gin - "silver", Mika - "new moon", Riko - "jasmine flower child", and Tani - "born in the valley".
Structure of a male Japanese name
The meaning of male Japanese names today has a deep meaning, which includes information about the occupation of the child's ancestors. As well as in the deep past, they must necessarily contain information about how the boy was born in order. The name of the first-born contains the element "kazu", while the second and third children have the element "ji" and "zo", respectively. What else do Japanese names include? Men's, unlike women's, are not so melodic and easy to pronounce. However, there are many elements in their composition, denoting the qualities of a person: character, abilities, external data.
Japanese male names: meaning
Let's get acquainted with several groups of names for whichcharacterized by various phenomena or abilities. As mentioned above, the sequence of birth is of great importance in their choice among the Japanese. The first sons are very often given the name Taro (firstborn) or Ichiro (if a girl was born before the boy). The second male child is called Kenji and so on. In large families, it comes to naming Goro (fifth) and even Shichiro (seventh).
Very often male Japanese names and their meanings are tied to some kind of power: Daiki - "great tree", Katsuo - "victorious child", Mashiro - "wide", Raidon - "commanding thunder", Takeshi - " brave." Also very popular are names that carry information about the character or abilities of the child: Benjiro - "enjoying the world", Hikaru - "shining", Kanaya - "diligence", Masa - "direct or straightforward", Toshiro - "talented", Saniiro - "wonderful". The least common in Japan were male names denoting natural phenomena, plants and animals: Roka - "wave crest", Yudsuki - "crescent" and Udo - "ginseng".
Beautiful names for Japanese boys
Parents, no matter in which country the child is born, always try to give the baby a name that will caress the ear. This also applies to male names in Japan. The list of the most beautiful, and therefore popular in this state, meanings is quite extensive. So, let's get acquainted with the most beautiful, according to the Japanese themselves, male names: Akajo - "smart man", Joshajto - "good, kindman", Setoshi - "wise, possessor of a clear mind", Makoto - "true, real man". Recently, those worn by the heroes of various films, anime and comics have become very popular: Sota - "big", Ren - "lotus", Haruto - "sunny", Riku - "ground firmament".
Russian names in Japanese: how to translate your name
Modern youth very often seeks to take a creative pseudonym or just a middle name, which will more clearly characterize them as a person. Often, pseudonyms with Japanese roots are used in this capacity. This is due to the fact that their sound is always more melodic than that of European ones. The literal translation of the name into Japanese in this case is not always possible, especially if you want to keep the existing meaning.
It is worth noting that the Japanese themselves use the Katakana alphabet to denote the proper names of foreigners, each hieroglyph of which denotes a certain syllable. European or Russian names written using this alphabet do not carry a semantic load, but only convey their sound.
Japanese names are written using the Hiragana syllabary characters, which not only indicate their pronunciation, but also carry a special meaning. In most cases, Russian names written with Hiragana are a completely dissonant combination (according to the Japanese themselves) or even obscene expressions.
If you want to translate your name into Japanese,and also write it using Hiragana characters, it is better to start by learning its meaning in Roman, Greek, Latin, Hebrew or other languages. Only by setting the indicators that make up the name (character traits, external features, names of animals, birds and plants), you can start translating each component into Japanese. Names translated in this way can be written in Hiragana characters without losing or distorting the meaning, but the sound component will be completely changed.
