J ● T| Japanese Traditions and culture

What is your name?
There are various names in the world.
There are many trends and culture-specific names in each country.

There are a few Japanese names that may mean something completely different in other countries or pronounced in a way that may be misconstrued for another (usually offensive) word.

Here are a few typical Japanese names with a completely different meaning in other countries!

・Ai
Associated with “Artificial Intelligence.”
Means “egg” in German.
・Ayumi
Could be misconstrued as, “Are you me?”.
・Eri
Mistaken for “eerie”.
・Kana
Means “chicken” in Finnish.
・Kiyomi
Mistaken/mispronounced as “Kill me”!
・Ko-ta
Means “Pervert” in Swedish.
Means “female parts” in British English.
Means “stool” in German!
・Saori
“I am Saori” is sometimes misconstrued as “I am sorry.”
・Shiori
In French it could be mistaken for “si au lit,” meaning, “to be in bed.”
・Shiho
Mistaken for “shit hot”.
・Junya
Mistaken for “Junior”.
・Susumu
Means “female breasts” in Indonesian.
・Sou
It sounds like “fou,” which means “a fool” in French.
・Takeshi
Mistaken for, “Take a shit!”.
・Chikako
In Italian, could be mistaken for “Ci cako,” or, “I empty my bowels here”.
・Teruko
Means “stubborn” in Spanish.
・Terumi
Mistaken for “Tell me”.
・Nao
Mistaken for “Now”.
・Haruto
In Arabic, the name can mean, “I’m tired because of him.”
In Hindi, “a thief.”
Mistaken for “halt” in English.
・Maiko
Pronounced very similar to “Michael”!
・Moe
Means “pubic hairs” in Thai.
・Yu-saku
Mistaken for “You Suck”!
・Yu-ki
Means, “to be itchy” in German.
Mistaken for “yucky” in English.
・Yu-suke
Mistaken for, “You scare”.
・Yu-dai
Mistaken for, “You Die”.
・Yu-to
Means “nose” in Italian.
Means “crowd” in Hindi.
・Yu-ma
If spelled “UMA,” people may associate with “unidentified mysterious animal.”
Means “mom” in Arabic.
Means “the god of death” in Hindi.
・Rie
Means “to laugh” in Spanish.
・Risa
Means “a person eating male genitals” in Burmese.

What did you think?
There is so many more that aren’t listed!

Was your name okay?
You should think about a wonderful nickname if your name sounds too strange overseas.
And be sure to reference this list when considering names for your child!

Photo by StereoSound