My First Name
Wednesday October 8, 2008
I previously mentioned my last name, "Abe", is quite common. I like my first name, "Namiko", because it is not very common, though it is not unusual. It is also nice that it seems to be easy to pronounce for westerners. People sometime ask about the meaning of my name. I wish I could tell them something interesting! Unfortunately my name doesn’t mean anything by itself. The Japanese word "nami" means, "wave," but it is written with a different kanji character from mine. The kanji character "na" is often used phonetically for a girl's name. "Mi" is the character for "beautiful" and "ko" is for "child."
Comments
to me Namiko sensei means “greatest teacher Namiko”
I am sad there is no japanese translation anymore, I was studying a log with the blog… I hope the feature will be back soon.
I like how it’s usually quite simple to find meaning and beauty in Japanese names. Usually westerners are taught to write their name in Katakana but I think it’s more fun to find the meaning of your western name and then link that with a Japanese name of the same meaning.
できれば、また日本語で書いてくださいませんか。ありがとうございます。
I miss the Japanese translations, too.
I miss the Japanese translation, too.
Hi there!
I’m so addicted to everything about japan…I’m watching Anime and Jap dramas & movies all the time ….and i really want to learn japanese! it’s a big help for me when im watching those japanese things….
Just want to say thank you for being here and teaching online for free! may god bless you for your kindness… you really helping me a lot also!!
hugs and kisses from me to you!!
オンラインで日本語をどう実施しますか？フォーラムで？
ごめんなさい、私は日本語を習っています。
I’m basically asking: “How do I practice my Japanese online?”. Is there any source of online forums at hand in which I can post my replies and someone can correct my mistakes warm-heartedly?
Namiko,
I’m curious about the history of Japanese names. I recently learned that until the Meiji restoration, common Japanese people didn’t have surnames.
Also, and this is of more interest to me, in the past, important members of Japanese society could have up to ten names for use in different situations. It’s hard for me to imagine! I think it’s difficult enough for me to remember people’s names sometimes, even though most people today have only two. If everyone had ten names, it would be much harder.
Could you write about this topic in your blog sometime?
Thank you for providing this useful service.
your site helped a lot. thank you very much.
I wish, in the near future, I could be as good as you in terms of writing and understanding Japanese language.
Anata no namae wa kirei desu yo.
Namiko is my favorite Japanese name! We have Japanese names in Japanese class, and mine is Namiko. I use the characters for wave and child, but it’s a lovely name no matter what kanji are used.
Thanks to Namiko sensei, nihon go ga jouzu ni natte kita. However, i still have to improve the grammar. Japanese language greatly differ than my language especially the grammar. i have one question. Is the language used in japanese anime,movie or drama similar to the one used in real world?
There are some differences in anime like:
- “Kenji-dono” – “Master Kenji”, is not used in real life; or not more I thing.
Anime’s use some special words or not common words not that often, but it also depends what kind of anime you watch.
If it’s something about Samurai the characters will also speak that way. That’s about the anime.
Don’t know anything about movie or drama because haven’t seen them before.
Jaane.
Sorry for my late posting, I just discovered this blog yesterday.
When I lived/worked in Tokyo, I had a female colleague by the name of Mina (奈美).
Naturally, I asked Mina about the meaning of her name and she replied that the 奈 in her name had no meaning.
That reply made me extremely curious. One day, I consulted a karate sensei, who happened to also be skilled at calligraphy. He replied that the character 奈 was no longer in common usage but that it’s meaning was very similar to 優しい.
So, it would be helpful know if the “na” used in Namiko’s name this: 奈?
Opps, typo. Gomen.
The name of that colleague is: 美奈
hello! my name is mayeth I’m a homestay from
canada here in calgary I’m tempted to learn how to speak japanese due to my students.rellie7@aol.com
I was wondering could you e-mail me how to say ‘echo’…..