How We Choose Kanji
Every character we suggest has to pass four tests. Most free converters apply the first one and stop.
Test 1 — Does it make the right sound?
This is the easy part, and it is the only part a machine can do reliably. Japanese has a small, fixed set of syllables, so an English name is first broken into sounds that Japanese can actually produce.
Sarah becomes sa-ra. That much is mechanical.
Test 2 — What does the character say on its own?
Dozens of characters can carry the sound sa, and dozens more can carry ra. A converter that picks by sound alone is rolling dice on meaning.
Here are two spellings of Sarah that are equally correct as sounds:
| Spelling | What a Japanese reader sees |
|---|---|
| 沙羅 | fine sand · woven silk |
| 差裸 | difference · naked |
Both read sara. Only one of them is a name.
Test 3 — Does it read as a name?
This is the test almost nobody applies, and it is the one that separates a real spelling from a plausible-looking one.
Japanese law defines which characters may be registered in a person's given name. Characters outside that set are not simply unusual — they cannot legally be someone's name in Japan. A spelling built from them will read to a Japanese person as a word arrangement, not as a person.
We work from that legal set first. 沙羅 passes because it is a name people in Japan actually have. 差裸 fails before anyone even considers the meaning.
Test 4 — Is it a character people still use?
There is a temptation to reach for rare characters because they look more elaborate. Resist it. An obscure character does not read as sophisticated — it reads as a character nobody recognizes, which is a different effect entirely, and usually not the one you wanted.
We prefer characters that a Japanese adult can read at a glance. If a spelling needs to be explained inside Japan, it will not carry the meaning you are hoping for outside it.
What we deliberately avoid
- Characters chosen only for their shape. 龍, 鬼, and 闇 are visually striking and are almost never appropriate in a personal name.
- Spellings that form an accidental phrase. Two characters sitting together can produce a compound word neither of them means alone. We check the pair, not just the parts.
- Chinese characters that are not Japanese usage. The writing systems share characters but not always meanings. A spelling that works in Chinese can read strangely in Japanese, and vice versa.
You will always see the reasoning
Every suggestion on this site comes with what each character means, how it is read, and why it was chosen over the alternatives. If we cannot explain a choice in plain English, we do not offer it.
That is the whole product. Everything else is packaging.