AniDB Definition:Romanisation

The information on this page is incomplete and may not be of much use.

If you can, please help by adding to it.

The information on this page is provided as guidelines on the use of romanised Japanese (rōmaji) in AniDB. Please be aware that this is not an exact science, there are many viable solutions to the same problem, though when submitting change requests on romanised titles users are expected to adhere to the 'house style' of the database. When there is contention over a particular issue, this page will provide both alternatives. External links to Wikipedia are provided throughout for ideas and terms that might be unfamiliar.

What romanised titles are for

• Primarily, to provide a transcription of the Japanese title that is aurally recognisable and readable by a user with little or no knowledge of the language. In using Roman script, this is obviously targeted at speakers of European languages, however as this constitutes a majority of the population of AniDB users, this is a fair restriction.

• Secondary purposes include enabling rough pronunciation of titles, providing an alternative method of searching for a Japanese title, assisting novices in reading unfamiliar words, and clarification of the reading of a particular word or phrase where it might be ambiguous.

What romanised titles aren't for

• There is no requirement to be able to reconstruct the original title from romanised form. With three distinct scripts plus Roman, a wide range of homophones, and typographic intricacies such as furigana usage, this is beyond the scope of a 26 letter alphabet. In all cases the Japanese title should be presented as well, a romanised form is in no way a replacement for this.
• Further more, the romanisation need not be a lossless transliteration of Japanese spelling. Though less so than English, Japanese pronunciation deviates somewhat from the phonemic spelling. As the aim is to provide an aurally recognisable transcription, it is more important to better reflect the sound than exact spelling.
• Romanised titles do not need to provide a basis for correct Japanese collation of titles. This is a technical problem that would be better handled correctly through its own system, and would interfere with the primary purpose of the romanisation.
• Romanisations need not have an 'official' status. Though both the Japanese makers and international licensees might provide a romanised title/name, this is irrelevant to a transcription of the Japanese title/name.

Guidance for using external sources to support romanisations

"Officially" provided Japanese romanisations should not be added as the main name for AniDB purposes; the main name should always follow AniDB transcription rules as set out here. Add the "official" transcription as a synonym if needed.

• For native Japanese words and names (e.g. 星界の紋章 Seikai no Monshou , 衛宮士郎 Emiya Shirou ), always use AniDB house rules.
• For non-native Japanese words and names (e.g. コードギアス Code Geass , ルルーシュ・ヴィ・ブリタニア Lelouch vi Britannia ):
  • If the Japanese producer provides an official spelling of the non-native name ("Lelouch vi Britannia"), use the official spelling.
    Exceptions may (or may not) apply for completely senseless spellings or spellings that run greatly afoul of our house rules.
    • ネロ・カオス Nrvnqsr Chaos is the official spelling. Since the name is essentially unreadable, the transcription used as the main name is Nero Chaos; this matches the pronunciation in the anime, and is aurally sound when compared to the katakana.
    • クワトロ・バジーナ Quattro Vajeena is an accepted official spelling despite being phonetically questionable and considered non-ideal by large parts of the community.
  • If the Japanese producer does not provide an official spelling of the non-native name, use AniDB house rules and write a transcription that makes the most sense. Do NOT blindly copy transcriptions from international licensees (for example: Crunchyroll) or fansubs, especially if that transcription does not accurately reflect the proper reading of the name; remember, transcriptions should be aurally recognisable.
  • The romanised word provided by the international licensee can be used as secondary evidence to help determine a romanisation; it is NOT a definitive transcription and should NOT be used as such. As always, use AniDB's house rules described in this article when writing any transcribed Japanese titles in AniDB; do NOT blindly copy transcriptions from licensees such as Crunchyroll. If a better or more common transcription is prevalent, use that instead of the licensee's transcription.
    • Historically, licensees are equally as prone to making mistakes as anyone else would, and not considered more trustworthy for transcriptions. The same applies to fansubs, translations of manga related to the anime (be they licensed or fan scanlations), and other similar English-language sources.

Hepburn romanisation

The Hepburn romanisation system was devised for a Japanese–English dictionary, published in 1867. Despite having no official status, variations of it are used for a vast majority of transcriptions, both inside and outside Japan. Unlike the two other main romanisation schemes, it concentrates of representing Japanese phonology rather than the underlying spelling.

Table of kana romanisation

Each mora represented in the kana spelling of a Japanese word can be transcribed into Roman letters according to the table below, with a few special cases that are listed in the following sections. The hiragana is on the left, katakana is on the right.

Table adapted from wikipedia article on Hepburn. Obsolete kana are shown in red.

あ a ア	い i イ	う u ウ	え e エ	お o オ	(ya)	(yu)	(yo)
か ka カ	き ki キ	く ku ク	け ke ケ	こ ko コ	きゃ kya キャ	きゅ kyu キュ	きょ kyo キョ
さ sa サ	し shi シ	す su ス	せ se セ	そ so ソ	しゃ sha シャ	しゅ shu シュ	しょ sho ショ
た ta タ	ち chi チ	つ tsu ツ	て te テ	と to ト	ちゃ cha チャ	ちゅ chu チュ	ちょ cho チョ
な na ナ	に ni ニ	ぬ nu ヌ	ね ne ネ	の no ノ	にゃ nya ニャ	にゅ nyu ニュ	にょ nyo ニョ
は ha ハ	ひ hi ヒ	ふ fu フ	へ he ヘ	ほ ho ホ	ひゃ hya ヒャ	ひゅ hyu ヒュ	ひょ hyo ヒョ
ま ma マ	み mi ミ	む mu ム	め me メ	も mo モ	みゃ mya ミャ	みゅ myu ミュ	みょ myo ミョ
や ya ヤ		ゆ yu ユ		よ yo ヨ
ら ra ラ	り ri リ	る ru ル	れ re レ	ろ ro ロ	りゃ rya リャ	りゅ ryu リュ	りょ ryo リョ
わ wa ワ	ゐ wi ヰ		ゑ we ヱ	を wo ヲ
				ん n ン
が ga ガ	ぎ gi ギ	ぐ gu グ	げ ge ゲ	ご go ゴ	ぎゃ gya ギャ	ぎゅ gyu ギュ	ぎょ gyo ギョ
ざ za ザ	じ ji ジ	ず zu ズ	ぜ ze ゼ	ぞ zo ゾ	じゃ ja ジャ	じゅ ju ジュ	じょ jo ジョ
だ da ダ	ぢ (ji) ヂ	づ (zu) ヅ	で de デ	ど do ド	ぢゃ (ja) ヂャ	ぢゅ (ju) ヂュ	ぢょ (jo) ヂョ
ば ba バ	び bi ビ	ぶ bu ブ	べ be ベ	ぼ bo ボ	びゃ bya ビャ	びゅ byu ビュ	びょ byo ビョ
ぱ pa パ	ぴ pi ピ	ぷ pu プ	ぺ pe ペ	ぽ po ポ	ぴゃ pya ピャ	ぴゅ pyu ピュ	ぴょ pyo ピョ
Extended Katakana - These are used mainly to represent the sounds in words in other languages. Most of these are not formally standardized and some are very rarely used.
			ye イェ
	wi ウィ		we ウェ	wo ウォ
va ヷ	vi ヸ		ve ヹ	vo ヺ
va ヴァ	vi ヴィ	vu ヴ	ve ヴェ	vo ヴォ
			she シェ
			je ジェ
	ti ティ	tu トゥ	che チェ			tyu テュ
	di ディ	du ドゥ				dyu デュ
tsa ツァ	tsi ツィ		tse ツェ	tso ツォ
fa ファ	fi フィ		fe フェ	fo フォ		fyu フュ

Special cases

Hepburn also has a few extra rules to deal with particular cases, the ones below the AniDB house style adheres to.

The particle spelling rules exist to reflect modern Japanese pronunciation, note there are other features that Hepburn does not attempt to reflect, for instance the frequent dropping of the vowel /u/ (です is only pronounced 'desu' by kids), largely because there's no easy rule that could always be applied. The 'small tsu' rules reflect the fact it used in two rather different ways, and the syllabic n case is to deal with the problem that transcription might be ambiguous in a few cases.

Particle は as wa

Intro to は by Tae Kim

This rule is basically accepted by everyone, generally only ignored in error.

When used as a particle, transcribe は as 'wa' rather than 'ha'

• Better represents the pronunciation
• Common practice everywhere

Particle へ as e

Intro to へ by Tae Kim

Sometimes contested, as romanisations that ignore this rule are somewhat common. Use 'e' in preference, but if adding an anime title where 'he' is sometimes used, add that alternative as a synonym.

When used as a particle, transcribe へ as 'e' rather than 'he'.

• Better represents the pronunciation.
• Established Hepburn rule, and widespread usage by those who follow transcription rules strictly.
• Titles will save one character per へ particle.

Particle を as o

Intro to を by Tae Kim

When used as a particle (you won't ever see it used in a normal word, so this means always (exceptions can come with names) transcribe を as 'o' rather than 'wo'.

• Better represents the pronunciation.
• Established Hepburn rule, and widespread usage by those who follow transcription rules strictly.

Discussion: 2004.06 (old forum) / 2004.06 (old forum) / 2005.07 (old forum) (warning: profanity)

っ when geminate consonant

Really a very simple rule, complicated by one particular case. When っ is indicating a stop, the easy way to show that in the Roman alphabet is with a doubled consonant. However for っち/っちゃ/っちゅ/っちょ the cluster tch is a probably a better transcription than cch (which is also confused by use in Italian) - but which is used tends to come down to individual words, which makes applying a general rule very difficult.

When part of a word, always transcribe っ by doubling the following consonant.

• One less rule to remember.
• Some common words are best known with a 'cch' transcription.

Futari Ecchi (ふたりエッチ) Ecchi has been borrowed back into English, and almost always spelt with the 'cch' - though this particular title is arguably just 'Futari H'.

っ when exclamation

Commonly either given as an exclamation mark or just dropped, the former is preferable.

Transcribe っ at the end of a word as '!', unless followed by one anyway, in which case drop.

• The っ as surprise/intonation marker is broadly equivalent to an exclamation mark.
• !! is っ! is ! semanticly, typography isn't important for transcriptions.

AA! Megami-sama! (ああっ女神さまっ)

Tsuruhime Ja! (つる姫じゃーっ!)

ん before vowels as n'

Accepted.

Examples:

• れんあい (ren'ai)
• 小泉ジュンイチロー (Koizumi Jun'ichirou)

Deviations from Hepburn

Note	These are rules in Hepburn that the AniDB house style does not follow, for the reasons given.

Macron usage for long vowels

Not accepted.

ん before labial consonants as m

Not accepted.

Loanwords and Transcribed Words in Japanese

The description is missing or severely incomplete. If you can, please help by explaining it.

For more information, see Wikipedia's page on Gairaigo.

Spell in original language where possible

For foreign loanwords and foreign words transcribed to Japanese, spell the word as the original language would spell it. Do NOT write it as a Japanese romanisation. Please remember that some loanwords may have variant spellings in the original language, to account for gender (masculine/feminine/neuter), number (singular/plural), and other grammatical considerations. When feasible, try to adhere to the original language's usage when picking the spelling variant.

Example:

• ウォーター (uoutaa): this is the word 'water' transcribed to Japanese. Spell it as 'water' in the transcription title.
• ラッキー (rakkii), this is the word 'lucky' transcribed to Japanese. Spell it as 'lucky' in the transcription title.
• アイスクリーム (aisu kuriimu): this is the words 'ice cream' transcribed to Japanese. Spell it as 'ice cream' in the transcription title.
• たまごっち (tamagocchi): this has a widely used English spelling of 'Tamagotchi'. Spell it as 'Tamagotchi' in the transcription title.
• ぷち / ぷちっと (petit / puchitto), this is the French word 'petit' or 'petite' transcribed to Japanese. Spell it as 'petit' (masculine) or 'petite' (feminine) (as appropriate, in the usage context) in the transcription title.
  • ぷちます! ('Puchimas! '), Japanese usage is as a proper noun. Do not transcribe as 'Petitmas'.
  • ぷちこ ('Puchiko '), Japanese usage is as a proper noun. Do not transcribe as 'Petitko'.
• スカトロ(ジー) (katakana) / すかとろ(じい) (hiragana) ('sukatoro(jii)', 'scatolo(gy)' (English)), Japanese usage is a short form of "scatology", and is consistent with the definition of scatology. Spell it as 'scatolo' for the contracted version (it's just an abbreviation of the loanword) and 'scatology' for the full version.

What to do with Wasei-eigo terms, and invented words using other languages (ie Wasei-xxx)

The description is missing or severely incomplete. If you can, please help by explaining it.

For more information, see Wikipedia's page on Wasei-eigo. In general, spell in the foreign language if it makes sense to do so. If it does not make sense, transcribe the reading directly without trying to map to the foreign language.

Examples:

• レベルアップ (reberu appu, 'level up'): Japanese usage means "raise a level". Spell it as 'level up' in the transcription title, as it readily maps to English.
• カンニング (kanningu, 'cunning'): Japanese usage means "cheating". Spell it as 'cunning' in the transcription title, as it readily maps to English.
• スキンシップ (sukinshippu, 'skinship'), Japanese usage means "physical contact" and appears to have been coined from skin and kinship. Spell it as 'skinship' as it readily maps to existing words in English.
• パートメントハウス (apaatomentohausu, 'apartment house'), Japanese usage means "apartment building" and appears to have been coined from apartment and house. Spell it as 'apartment house' as it readily maps to existing words in English.
  • アパート ('apaato', 'apart(ment)'), Japanese usage is a short form of "apartment house". Spell it as 'apaato' as it does not readily map to existing words in English with the meaning of "apartment".
• アルバイト (arubaito, 'arbeit' (German)), Japanese usage means "work or job", and is borrowed from German. Spell it as 'arbeit' in the transcription title, as it readily maps to German.
  • バイト ('baito', '(ar)beit' (German)), Japanese usage is a short form of "arbeit". Spell it as 'baito' as it does not readily map to existing words in German with the meaning of "arbeit".

What to do with names

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Other orthography issues

The description is missing or severely incomplete. If you can, please help by explaining it.

Anything that doesn't fit into the above major categories.

Capitalisation

Use an initial capital letter for 単語.

See the Capitalisation guide.

Punctuation

Use international punctuation rules:

• space after comma (,) but not before
• space after last full stop (.), questionmark (?), exclamation mark (!)
• use no space after the aforementioned if it's the end of the sentence/expression

For Japanese titles:

• replace any Japanese fullwidth characters with equivalent halfwidth character
• replace Japanese comma (、), Japanese full stop (。), questionmark (？), exclamation mark (！) and, where applicable, space to meet punctuation rules

Spacing

Separate each word (単語 (Tango)) and particle (助詞 (Joshi)).

Exception: (Question) Particle: か (ka) When か is used as an indicator for a question (most of the times at the end of a sentence), it will be assimilated to the Verb. Example: 私の家へ行きますか - Watashi no Uchi e Ikimasuka
When か is used to indicate a choice in the middle of a sentence, which includes a noun, it will be split. Example: コーヒーか茶か - Kohi ka Cha ka

隊 (tai)

Separate 隊 (Tai ("Group")), except when it's actually part of another word (e.g. 軍隊 (Guntai (Army/Troops)). Don't hyphenate.

Example:

少女隊 - Shoujo Tai (Shoujo Tai , a Japanese girl band from the 80's)

Note: not to be confused with 対 (tai, "versus"), which is always lowercase

号 (gou)

Separate 号 (Gou ("Vessel" / "Ship" / "Issue" / [...]), except when it's actually part of another word (e.g. 暗号 (Angou (Code/Cypher))). Don't hyphenate.

Example:

ベザン・ブラック号 - Bezan Black Gou (Bezan Black Gou , character/ship from One Piece)

編 / 篇 (hen / hen)

Separate 編 / 篇 ("Volume" / "Version" / [...]), except when it's actually part of another word (e.g. 完結編 (Kanketsuhen (Last program of a series)), 予告編 / 予告篇 (Yokokuhen (trailer / advanced notice)). Don't hyphenate.

Example:

魔動王グランゾート 冒険編 - Madou King Grandzort: Bouken Hen (Madou King Grandzort: Bouken Hen , an OVA from the 90s)

予告篇 - Yokokuhen (Yokokuhen , a preview/trailer for Tenjou Tenge )

版 (ban)

Separate 版 ("Edition" / "Version" / [...]), except when it's actually part of another word (e.g. 劇場版 (Gekijouban (Movie edition))). Don't hyphenate.

Example:

アニメPV [ノンテロップ版] - Anime PV [Non-Telop Ban] (Kakuchou Shoujo Kei Trinary - T1 - Anime PV 01 (0:35) (Anime PV [Non-Telop Ban]) , the Non-TELOP version PV)

ノンテロップ版 38.PHASE-40 - Non-Telop Ban 38.PHASE-40 (Kidou Senshi Gundam SEED - S8 - Special 8 (Non-Telop Ban 38.PHASE-40) , the Non-TELOP version episode (which was included in the BD/DVD))

部 (bu)

Separate 部 ("Part" / "Section" / [...]), except when it's actually part of another word (e.g. 帰宅部 (Kitakubu (Students who do not participate in club activities of the school))). Don't hyphenate.

Example:

柔道部物語 - Judo Bu Monogatari (Judo Bu Monogatari , an OVA from the 90s)

Exception: If the term preceding 部 is not a word, use a hyphen. Examples:

• Stella Jogakuin Koutouka C3-bu: C3 is not a word.
• GJ-bu: GJ is not a word.

する (suru)

Always split

Example:

べんきょうする - Benkyou Suru

べんきょうします - Benkyou Shimasu

べんきょうしました - Benkyou Shimashita

ではありません (de wa Arimasen)

This phrase is composed of particle + particle + verb + negation. It can be translated as "is not".

There is a special bastardization (じゃない) of this phrase which should be transcribed in the following way:

じゃ = de wa = ja

The particles de wa have been merged into ja

ない = Arimasen = Nai

The verb and negation Arimasen have been turned into Nai

Thus de wa Arimasen is turned into ja Nai.

Honorifics and Suffixes expressing status/job

Honorifics and such are widely used in Japanese.

Our rules on that are:

• use dictionary word if applicable
• use dash (-) to separate word from honorific
• use lowercase on the honorific

(Incomplete) List of Suffixes

• -bokushi (牧師)
• -chan (and all its variations) (ちゃん)
• -chi (ち)
• -denka (殿下)
• -fujin (夫人)
• -hakase (博士)
• -hakushaku (伯爵)
• -heika (陛下)
• -hime (姫)
• -kakka (閣下)
• -keibu (警部)
• -keibuho (警部補)
• -kouhai (後輩)
• -kun (君/くん)
• -kyou (卿)
• -kyouju (教授)
• -megami (女神)
• -ojou (お嬢)
• -sama (さま)
• -san (さん)
• -senpai (先輩)
• -sensei (先生)
• -shi (氏)
• -shimai (姉妹)
• -shinpu (神父)

(Incomplete) List of dictionary words

• お父さん - Otousan ("Papa"), but Otou-chan
• お母さん - Okaasan ("Mama"), but Okaa-chan
• 父上 - Chichiue ("Father")
• 母上 - Hahaue ("Mother")
• 父親 - Chichioya ("Father")
• 母親 - Hahaoya ("Mother")
• おじさん - Ojisan ("Uncle"), but Oji-chan
• おばさん - Obasan ("Aunt"), but Oba-chan
• おじいさん - Ojiisan ("Grandpa"), but Ojii-chan
• おばあさん - Obaasan ("Grandma"), but Obaa-chan
• 赤ちゃん - Akachan ("Baby")
• 神様 - Kamisama ("God")
• 白雪姫 - Shirayukihime ("Snow White"), but Akagami no Shirayuki-hime because Shirayuki is the actual name of the title character (see creq)
• 歌姫 - Utahime ("Songstress")
• 人魚姫 - Ningyohime ("Mermaid Princess")
• 雪男 - Yukiotoko ("Snow man")
• 雪女 - Yukionna ("Snow woman")
• 殿様 - Tonosama ("Lord")
• 機関車先生 - Kikanshasensei

たち (tachi)

Always split from the associated word and set '-', unless the word is a pronoun, in which case keep glued.

i.e.
Elf o Karu Mono-tachi
but: kimitachi, oretachi, anatatachi, omaetachi, watashitachi, and so on.

色 (iro)

Dictionary Words

A list of real Japanese composita that you can find in a dictionary will be seen as one word on AniDB:

藍色 - Aiiro ("Indigo Blue")

茜色 - Akaneiro ("Madder Red")

赤色 - Akairo ("Red")

薔薇色/バラ色/ばら色 - Barairo ("Rose Coloured")

橙色 - Daidaiiro ("Orange")

艶色 - Enshoku ("Charming / Wonderful Colour")

銀色 - Gin'iro ("Silver Coloured")

灰色 - Haiiro ("Grey")

緋色 - Hiiro, Hishoku ("Scarlet", "Cardinal")

黄色 - Kiiro ("Yellow")

金色 - Kin'iro ("Golden")

金色/こんじき - Konjiki ("Golden")

水色 - Mizuiro ("Light Blue")

桃色 - Momoiro ("Pink", "Rosy")

七色/なないろ - Nanairo (describes the seven colours of the rainbow)

鈍色/にびいろ - Nibiiro ("Gray Mouse Coloured")

音色 - Neiro ("Tone colour", "tone (quality)")

瑠璃色 - Ruriiro ("Azure")

緑色 - Ryokushoku/Midoriiro ("Green")

桜色 - Sakurairo ("Pink", "Cherry Blossom Coloured")

真珠色 - Shinjuiro ("Pearl Grey")

秋色 - Shuushoku ("Autumn/Fall Scenery")

空色/そらいろ - Sorairo ("Sky Coloured")

鴇色/ときいろ - Tokiiro ("Pale Pink", "Pale Rose")

山吹色/やまぶきいろ - Yamabukiiro ("Bright Yellow")

Non-Dictionary Words

A list of composita with 色 that you can't find in a Japanese dictionary will be separated with "-":

雨色 - Ame-iro ("Rain Coloured")

あなた色 - Anata-iro ("You-Coloured")

朝色 - Asa-iro ("Morning Coloured")

不思議色 - Fushigi-iro ("Mysterious Coloured")

グンジョ色 - Gunjo-iro (群青, Gunjou: Ultramarine)

初色 - Hatsu-iro ("First (Time) Coloured")

枯れ葉色 - Kareha-iro ("Colour of Dead/Dry Leaves")

君色 - Kimi-iro ("You-Coloured")

恋色 - Koi-iro ("Love Coloured")

ココロいろ - Kokoro-iro (Kokoro means Heart, but can also be Soul, thus it's either "Heart Coloured" or "Soul Coloured")

マーブル色 - Marble-iro ("Marble Coloured")

モーブ色 - Mauve-iro (Mauve Coloured)

みらいいろ - Mirai-iro ("Future-Coloured")

紫水晶色 - Murasakisuishou-iro ("Amethyst Coloured")

ナミダイロ - Namida-iro ("Wave Coloured")

夏色 - Natsu-iro ("Summer Coloured")

ニビイロ - Nibi-iro ("Nibi Coloured")

虹色 - Niji-iro ("Rainbow Coloured")

オレンジ色 - Orange-iro ("Orange (Coloured)")

セピア色 - Sepia-iro ("Sepia Coloured")

修羅色 - Shura-iro ("Fighting/Battle Coloured")

ときめき色 - Tokimeki-iro (ときめく, tokimeku: to throb, to flutter, to palpitate; send your throb-coloured things to us!)

夢色 - Yume-iro ("Dream Coloured")

百合色 - Yuri-iro ("Lily Coloured")

ユウヤケイロ - Yuuyake-iro ("Sunset Coloured")

Special Guests

A list of anime specific "colours" that are purely fictional:

ラメ色 - Lum-iro (Lum , a character from Urusei Yatsura)

トモカネいろ - Tomokane-iro (Tomokane , a character from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class)

ノダミキいろ - Noda Miki-iro (Noda Miki , a character from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class)

ナミコいろ - Namiko-iro (Namiko , a character from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class)

キョージュいろ - Kyoju-iro (Kyoju , nickname for a character from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class)

キサラギいろ - Kisaragi-iro (Kisaragi , a character from GA: Geijutsuka Art Design Class)

This list is of course not complete and will get new colours added when they are encountered

Counters

When making a combination between a number and one of the many many many Japanese counters, the two words merge into one, thus creating a compound.

Here you will find a list of some (!) useful counters and how they should be transcribed on AniDB.

Please note that there is a whole lot more of counters used in the Japanese language that are not included in this list, making this list expandable.

Arabic Numerals and Counters

As a general rule, Arabic numbers should be written as Japanese words when part of a word; see examples below.

While incorrect, the Alternate Transcription can be added as a synonym/alias transcription, to allow for searchability of the entry.

Text	Hiragana	Correct (Preferred) Transcription	Incorrect (Alternate) Transcription	Incorrect Transcription
3つ	みっつ	Mittsu	3-tsu	3tsu
3月	さんがつ	Sangatsu	3-gatsu	3gatsu

Specific Cases and Exceptions

The following exceptions list is by no means complete.

-- "Full" Dates

If a "full" date is given with Arabic numerals, leave the numerals in the transcription.

Text	Hiragana	Transcription
2016年4月11日	2016ねん4がつ11にち	2016 Nen 4 Gatsu 11 Nichi
2016年4月	2016ねん4がつ	2016 Nen 4 Gatsu
4月11日	4がつ11にち	4 Gatsu 11 Nichi

-- Day (Counter: 日, -nichi)

This policy does not apply to the 日 (nichi, day) counter, when being used as a date. For days, such as "12日", transcribe as "12 Nichi" (spacing and capitalization policy of nichi is subject to change).

If 日 is being used to count the number of days as a counter object, ie 12日 as in "twelve days", transcribe in full: juuninichi.

However, 1st to 10th, 14th, 20th, and 24th, are irregular.

#	Text	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一日	ついたち	Tsuitachi
2	二日	ふつか	Futsuka
3	三日	みっか	Mikka
4	四日	よっか	Yokka
5	五日	いつか	Itsuka
6	六日	むいか	Muika
7	七日	なのか	Nanoka
8	八日	ようか	Youka
9	九日	ここのか	Kokonoka
10	十日	とおか	Tooka
14	十四日	じゅうよっか	Juuyokka
20	二十日	はつか	Hatsuka
24	二十四日	にじゅうよっか	Nijuuyokka

-- Month (Counter: 月, -gatsu)

The 12 months of the year are considered dictionary terms. Similar to how the months in English are named January through December, the Japanese months are named 一月/1月 through 十二月/12月. When used to refer to the month, transcribe in full, such as ichigatsu and juunigatsu.

If 月 is being used to count the number of months as a counter object, ie 12ヶ月 as in "twelve months", transcribe in full: juunikagetsu.

-- Year (Counter: 年, -nen)

This policy does not apply to the 年 (nen, year) counter, when being used as a date. For years, such as "2112年", transcribe as "2112 Nen" (spacing and capitalization policy of nen is subject to change).

If 年 is being used to count the number of years as a counter object, ie 12年 as in "twelve years", transcribe in full: juuninen.

Japanese Addresses and Arabic Numerals

When Arabic numerals are given in a Japanese address, do NOT transcribe the Arabic numeral. If the address contains non-Arabic numbers, transcribe into Arabic numbers.

Japan Post has also defined a standard English address format. The order is reversed when writing in roman letters, to better suit Western conventions.

More info can be found on this Wikipedia article.

Examples:

• 3-Choume no Tama: Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka?
• 3-Choume no Tama: Onegai! Momo-chan o Sagashite!!
• 3-Choume no Tama: Uchi no Tama Shirimasenka?

Description	Japanese	Transcription	Japan Post Standard English
Full address	〒100-8994 東京都中央区八重洲一丁目5番3号 東京中央郵便局	〒100-8994 Tokyo-to Chuuou-ku Yaesu 1-Choume 5-ban 3-gou Tokyo Chuuou Yuubin-kyoku	Tokyo Central Post Office 5-3, Yaesu 1-Chome Chuo-ku, Tokyo 100-8994
District and building number (choume and bangou)	八重洲一丁目5番3号	Yaesu 1-Choume 5-ban 3-gou	5-3, Yaesu 1-Chome
District and building number (choume and bangou)	八重洲1丁目5番3号	Yaesu 1-Choume 5-ban 3-gou	5-3, Yaesu 1-Chome

Counting in General (Counter: つ, -tsu)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一つ	ひとつ	Hitotsu
2	二つ	ふたつ	Futatsu
3	三つ	みっつ	Mittsu
4	四つ	よっつ	Yottsu
5	五つ	いつつ	Itsutsu
6	六つ	むつ	Mutsu
7	七つ	ななつ	Nanatsu
8	八つ	やっつ	Yattsu
9	九つ	ここのつ	Kokonotsu
10	十	とお	Too
20	二十	はたち	Hatachi

Positioning / # (Counter: 番, -ban)　

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一番	いちばん	Ichiban
2	二番	にばん	Niban
3	三番	さんばん	Sanban
4	四番	よんばん	Yonban
5	五番	ごばん	Goban
6	六番	ろくばん	Rokuban
7	七番	ななばん	Nanaban
8	八番	はちばん	Hachiban
9	九番	きゅうばん	Kyuuban
10	十番	じゅうばん	Juuban

People (Counter: 人, -hito/-nin)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一人	ひとり	Hitori
2	二人	ふたり	Futari
3	三人	さんにん	Sannin
4	四人	よにん	Yonin
5	五人	ごにん	Gonin
6	六人	ろくにん	Rokunin
7	七人	ななにん / しちにん	Nananin / Shichinin
8	八人	はちにん	Hachinin
9	九人	きゅうにん	Kyuunin
10	十人	じゅうにん	Juunin

Age (Counter: 歳, -sai)

If age (歳) is given with an Arabic numeral, it should NOT be merged.

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	1歳	1さい	1-sai
2	2歳	2さい	2-sai
12	12歳	12さい	12-sai

Otherwise, merge if given in kana.

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一歳	いっさい	Issai
2	二歳	にさい	Nisai
3	三歳	さんさい	Sansai
4	四歳	よんさい	Yonsai
5	五歳	ごさい	Gosai
6	六歳	ろくさい	Rokusai
7	七歳	ななさい	Nanasai
8	八歳	はっさい	Hassai
9	九歳	きゅうさい	Kyuusai
10	十歳	じゅうさい	Juusai
20	二十歳	はたち	Hatachi

Small Animals + rolls of cloth (Counter: 匹, -hiki)

Small Animals (up until the size of a dog); also rolls of cloth.

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一匹	いっぴき	Ippiki
2	二匹	にひき	Nihiki
3	三匹	さんびき	Sanbiki
4	四匹	よんひき	Yonhiki
5	五匹	ごひき	Gohiki
6	六匹	ろっぴき	Roppiki
7	七匹	ななひき / しちひき	Nanahiki / Shichihiki
8	八匹	はっぴき	Happiki
9	九匹	きゅうひき	Kyuuhiki
10	十匹	じゅっぴき	Juppiki

Large Animals (Counter: 頭, -tou)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一頭	いっとう	Ittou
2	二頭	にとう	Nitou
3	三頭	さんとう	Santou
4	四頭	よんとう	Yontou
5	五頭	ごとう	Gotou
6	六頭	ろくとう	Rokutou
7	七頭	ななとう	Nanatou
8	八頭	ななとう / はっとう	Hattou / Hachitou
9	九頭	きゅうとう	Kyuutou
10	十頭	じゅっとう	Juttou

Bunches, Bundles, Sheaves, Letters (Counter: 把, -wa)

All 3 of these counters are pronounced the same; hence, they are transcribed the same as well.

• Stories/Tales (Counter: 話, -wa)
• Birds and Rabbits (Counter: 羽, -wa)
• Bunches, Bundles, Sheaves, Letters (Counter: 把, -wa)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一話	いちわ	Ichiwa
2	二話	にわ	Niwa
3	三話	さんわ	Sanwa
4	四話	よんわ	Yonwa
5	五話	ごわ	Gowa
6	六話	ろくわ / ろっぱ	Rokuwa / Roppa
7	七話	ななわ / しちわ	Nanawa / Shichiwa
8	八話	はちわ / はっぱ	Hachiwa / Happa
9	九話	きゅうわ	Kyuuwa
10	十話	じゅうわ / じゅっぱ	Juuwa / Juppa

Long Thin Objects (Counter: 本, -hon)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一本	いっぽん	Ippon
2	二本	にほん	Nihon
3	三本	さんぼん	Sanbon
4	四本	よんほん	Yonhon
5	五本	ごほん	Gohon
6	六本	ろくほん / ろっぽん	Rokuhon / Roppon
7	七本	ななほん	Nanahon
8	八本	はっぽん	Happon
9	九本	きゅうほん	Kyuuhon
10	十本	じゅっぽん	Juppon

Small Objects (Counter: 個, -ko)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一個	いっこ	Ikko
2	二個	にこ	Niko
3	三個	さんこ	Sanko
4	四個	よんこ	Yonko
5	五個	ごこ	Goko
6	六個	ろっこ	Rokko
7	七個	ななこ	Nanako
8	八個	はっこ	Hakko
9	九個	きゅうこ	Kyuuko
10	十個	じゅっこ	Jukko

Machines and Vehicles (Counter: 大, -dai)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一大	いちだい	Ichidai
2	二大	にだい	Nidai
3	三大	さんだい	Sandai
4	四大	よんだい	Yondai
5	五大	ごだい	Godai
6	六大	ろくだい	Rokudai
7	七大	ななだい / しちだい	Nanadai / Shichidai
8	八大	はちだい	Hachidai
9	九大	きゅうだい	Kyuudai
10	十大	じゅうだい	Juudai

Flat Objects (Counter: 枚, -mai)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一枚	いちまい	Ichimai
2	二枚	にまい	Nimai
3	三枚	さんまい	Sanmai
4	四枚	よんまい	Yonmai
5	五枚	ごまい	Gomai
6	六枚	ろくまい	Rokumai
7	七枚	ななまい / しちまい	Nanamai / Shichimai
8	八枚	はちまい	Hachimai
9	九枚	きゅうまい	Kyuumai
10	十枚	じゅうまい	Juumai

Floors (of a Building) (Counter: 回, -kai)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一回	いっかい	Ikkai
2	二回	にかい	Nikai
3	三回	さんがい	Sangai
4	四回	よんかい	Yonkai
5	五回	ごかい	Gokai
6	六回	ろっかい	Rokkai
7	七回	ななかい	Nanakai
8	八回	はちかい / はっかい	Hachikai / Hakkai
9	九回	きゅうかい	Kyuukai
10	十回	じゅっかい	Jukkai

Glasses (of Liquid) (Counter:　杯, -hai)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一杯	いっぱい	Ippai
2	二杯	にはい	Nihai
3	三杯	さんばい	Sanbai
4	四杯	よんはい	Yonhai
5	五杯	ごはい	Gohai
6	六杯	ろくはい / ろっぱい	Rokuhai / Roppai
7	七杯	ななはい	Nanahai
8	八杯	はちはい / はっぱい	Hachihai / Happai
9	九杯	きゅうはい	Kyuuhai
10	十杯	じゅっぱい	Juppai

Books (Counter: 冊, -satsu)

#	Kanji	Hiragana	Transcription
1	一冊	いっさつ	Issatsu
2	二冊	にさつ	Nisatsu
3	三冊	さんさつ	Sansatsu
4	四冊	よんさつ	Yonsatsu
5	五冊	ごさつ	Gosatsu
6	六冊	ろくさつ	Rokusatsu
7	七冊	ななさつ	Nanasatsu
8	八冊	はっさつ	Hassatsu
9	九冊	きゅうさつ	Kyuusatsu
10	十冊	じゅうさつ	Juusatsu

Practical guide

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