What's your name in Kanji (590 names listed)

What's your name in Kanji (590 names listed) is an English guide to characters, sounds and culture that reveals how foreign names are written in Japanese kanji using ateji, answering the question every learner and traveller eventually asks: what would my name look like in kanji?

Using ateji — the Japanese art of matching sounds to characters — it shows how a name such as "Aaliyah" can be written 愛里彩 (Airiya), with the right characters chosen for their reading. Because every kanji carries its own meaning, each name turns into a small story, and short columns along the way introduce aspects of Japanese culture, language and tradition.

Recommended level: all levels; as an English edition that requires no prior Japanese, it is perfect for absolute beginners and the simply curious, while still offering plenty of kanji discovery for those further along.

The book is an English edition: the explanations are in English, and the names themselves appear in Japanese kanji with their katakana readings shown alongside.

Useful features include a clear introduction to the ateji concept, the individual meaning behind each character, katakana pronunciation for every name, and cultural columns that make it a fun journey through language and tradition.