Riddles of Japanese and German Names

On the first of April marking the beginning of a new business year, fresh graduates enter the corporate life in Japan. Soon, they will have their very first name cards, perhaps bilingual ones if they are in international business.

In general, I feel lucky about my name, Arai. Why? Because it is short and easy to pronounce for Germans and other non-natives alike.

This is not always so. Let me give you some examples. 

Sakakibara, Urushiyama, Kurabayashi, Higashikawa, Mukouguchi, Shimabukuro …

Can you guess what is common with all these Japanese names? They are all written in TWO characters in Japanese just like my name is.

Once, I had a Japanese friend whose name was Urushiyama. Working in a sales department, she had a hard time in getting her name across on the telephone. By the time she reached the “I” in spelling out her name like “Ulrich (for U), Richard (for R), Ulrich (for U)...”, the person on the other end of the line lost his/her patience and hung up.

😅 Ironically, the only problem I have with my name manifests itself when I am speaking to a Japanese.

There are two major ways of spelling my family name in Kanji (Chinese characters used in Japan), 新井 and 荒井. Both versions are common. A newly acquainted Japanese thus ends up in asking “Hmm, Arai-san, is your name written with the character for “new” or “rough”?

This spelling problem of Japanese names may be difficult for Germans to understand. When I am translating a paper with names written in Kanji characters, I can never be 100% sure how they are pronounced in Japanese and thus how to romanize them. Some clients say “but you must know them as you are a Japanese native.”

To such an inappropriate accusation, I usually reply: “Just think of the German name “Meier”. Is it Maier or Mayer or Meyer? You would not know how to spell it just from hearing it”.

🤝 So, let me introduce myself properly once again. My name is Sumiko Arai. When literally translated, it is a Clear-Water Child (first name) from a New Well (family name).

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