Kanji
Meaning in a character
桜 means cherry tree or cherry blossom and can be read sakura. A kanji can have more than one reading; the word and context matter.
A small guide to Japanese writing
Three scripts.
Different ways to express you.
Japanese brings meaning and sound together. Kanji, hiragana, and katakana each have a part to play.
Kanji
桜
Hiragana
さくら
Katakana
サクラ
The sound, the meaning, the feeling.
Hiragana
Sound in flowing forms
さ・く・ら writes the sounds sa-ku-ra. Hiragana appears throughout Japanese, including words, names, and grammatical endings.
Katakana
Sound in angular forms
サ・ク・ラ writes the same sounds. Katakana is often used for foreign names and borrowed words, and also for plant names and emphasis.
And for your name?
Start with how you say it.
For a name from another language, katakana is the usual starting point. The spelling follows its pronunciation in Japanese, so the letters of your original name alone may not tell the whole story.
Kanji offers a more personal, creative choice: characters selected for sound, meaning, or a balance of both. That choice may need an explanation. It is not an official translation of your name.
Hiragana can show the same Japanese sounds with a different visual character. Changing scripts does not add a new meaning to each sound.
At KANJI INK
Begin with a little meaning.
Explore kanji ideas for free, or ask a Japanese reader to choose a personal recommendation. When a result includes a kana reading, you can also see that reading in hiragana and katakana.
Our paid reading currently focuses on kanji. Broader kana tools are a future direction; they are not a separate service you can order today.