Katakana in Real Life

Katakana 2

Chapter 11 · Katakana in Real Life

🌸 Katakana in Real Life — Signs, Menus, Brands and Your Name

You now know all of katakana. This chapter uses it on the things you will actually see: signs, menus, brand names and place names, and shows you how to write your own name. Romaji is shown for everything.

🪧 Signs and Shop Words — 看板

You can now read every character in katakana. This chapter is for putting it to work: signs, menus, brands and place names. Read each one aloud first.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	エレベーター	erebētā	elevator; lift	e-re-be-e-ta-a
2	エスカレーター	esukarētā	escalator	e-su-ka-re-e-ta-a
3	トイレ	toire	toilet	to-i-re
4	レジ	reji	cash register; checkout	re-ji: you pay here
5	セール	sēru	sale	se-e-ru
6	サービス	sābisu	service; free extra	sa-a-bi-su
7	コンビニ	konbini	convenience store	ko-n-bi-ni: shortened from convenience store
8	パーキング	pākingu	parking	pa-a-ki-n-gu

🍽️ A Café and Restaurant Menu — メニュー

#	Item	Romaji	English	Note
1	コーヒー	kōhī	coffee	from Katakana 1
2	ティー	tī	tea	ティ + ー
3	ジュース	jūsu	juice; soft drink
4	ビール	bīru	beer
5	サンドイッチ	sandoicchi	sandwich	sa-n-do-i-c-chi: ッ doubles the ch
6	ハンバーガー	hanbāgā	hamburger	ha-n-ba-a-ga-a
7	パスタ	pasuta	pasta	pa-su-ta
8	サラダ	sarada	salad	sa-ra-da
9	ステーキ	sutēki	steak	su-te-e-ki
10	ケーキ	kēki	cake	from Katakana 1

🏷️ Brands You Will See

Many shop and company names are written in katakana, even the Japanese ones. Recognising them makes a street map much easier to read.

#	Brand	Romaji	English	Note
1	セブンイレブン	Sebun-Irebun	7-Eleven	a convenience store chain
2	ローソン	Rōson	Lawson	a convenience store chain
3	ファミリーマート	Famirī Māto	FamilyMart	a convenience store chain
4	スターバックス	Sutābakkusu	Starbucks	a coffee chain
5	マクドナルド	Makudonarudo	McDonald's	often shortened to マック
6	ユニクロ	Yunikuro	Uniqlo	a Japanese clothes brand, written in katakana
7	トヨタ	Toyota	Toyota	a Japanese car maker
8	ホンダ	Honda	Honda	a Japanese car maker
9	ソニー	Sonī	Sony	a Japanese electronics company
10	ニンテンドー	Nintendō	Nintendo	a Japanese games company

🌍 Places — Including Yours

Countries and cities outside East Asia are written in katakana. These ten include places that matter to the author of this course: Edinburgh and Hungary.

#	Place	Romaji	English	Note
1	エジンバラ	Ejinbara	Edinburgh	e-ji-n-ba-ra
2	スコットランド	Sukottorando	Scotland	su-ko-t-to-ra-n-do
3	イギリス	Igirisu	the United Kingdom	i-gi-ri-su: from Portuguese Inglez, not English
4	ロンドン	Rondon	London	ro-n-do-n
5	ハンガリー	Hangarī	Hungary	ha-n-ga-ri-i
6	ブダペスト	Budapesuto	Budapest	bu-da-pe-su-to
7	ドイツ	Doitsu	Germany	do-i-tsu: from the German Deutsch
8	フランス	Furansu	France	fu-ra-n-su
9	スペイン	Supein	Spain	su-pe-i-n
10	カナダ	Kanada	Canada	ka-na-da

✍️ Writing Your Own Name

Names are written by sound, not by spelling. Here is the recipe, using Philip as the example.

Step	What to do	Philip →
1	Say the name out loud, slowly	Phi-lip
2	Split it into Japanese beats	fi · ri · p · pu
3	Add a vowel after any lonely consonant (usually u, or o after t/d)	ri-p → ri-p-pu
4	Choose katakana, using ッ for doubled sounds and ー for long vowels	フィ · リ · ッ · プ = フィリップ

So Philip is フィリップ (Firippu). The Hungarian surname Osztromok is pronounced ostromok (the Hungarian sz is an "s"), so it becomes オストロモク. Together, with the dot ・ (nakaguro) between first and last name, Philip Osztromok is フィリップ・オストロモク.

Some Common English Names Here are a few to practise with. The spelling varies a little between writers, since there is no official standard.

English name	Katakana	Say it
John	ジョン	Jon
Mike	マイク	Maiku
Tom	トム	Tomu
David	デイビッド	Deibiddo
Emma	エマ	Ema
Anna	アンナ	Anna
Mary	メアリー	Meari
Steve	スティーブ	Sutību

Real Japanese Tip — The Dot ・ and Name Order The middle dot ・ (nakaguro) separates the parts of a foreign name or a list of katakana words. Japanese names are written family name first (やまだたろう), but foreign names in katakana are usually written first name first (フィリップ・オストロモク), the same order as in the original. Sometimes a Japanese form will ask for your name in katakana, so this skill is more practical than it seems.

Review: Words from the Last Chapter パーティー (party) · ディナー (dinner) · チェック (check) · シェア (share) · ティッシュ (tissue) · ジェット (jet).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read aloud and translate: エレベーター · レジ · コンビニ

Show answer

erebētā (elevator) · reji (checkout) · konbini (convenience store)

2. Read aloud and translate: ハンバーガー · サンドイッチ · ステーキ

Show answer

hanbāgā (hamburger) · sandoicchi (sandwich) · sutēki (steak)

3. Read aloud: スターバックス · マクドナルド · ユニクロ

Show answer

Sutābakkusu (Starbucks) · Makudonarudo (McDonald's) · Yunikuro (Uniqlo)

4. Read aloud and translate: エジンバラ · ハンガリー · ブダペスト

Show answer

Ejinbara (Edinburgh) · Hangarī (Hungary) · Budapesuto (Budapest)

5. What does the dot ・ do in フィリップ・オストロモク?

Show answer

It separates the first name and the family name.

6. Write your own first name in katakana, following the four steps in this chapter.

Show answer

Compare it with a friend's version: small differences are normal, since there is no official standard.

Coming Up in Chapter 12 The last chapter: reading practice with a short text, an advert and a menu, and a Course Complete recap of all the katakana you have learned. Then the combined course PDF.