AboutDreams Expertise I have been teaching myself the language for the past seven years, having consistent practice with Japanese materials. I can help translate things from English to Japanese or vice versa. I can also help you get started if you're planning on taking up the language. =) I'm most familiar with things like anime, manga, J-pop, games and so on.
Experience I began learning the language in 1999. I frequently talk with penpals and natives in Japan, as well as continually keep up practicing with authentic Japanese materials.
Question QUESTION: My Japanese Bobtail cat's name is the Japanese word for tulip. I believe it is spelled "Chuurippo", but I don't know how to pronounce it.
Thank you for any help you can furnish.
ANSWER: Hello,
You would pronounce "chuurippu" just how "tulip" is pronounced. Of course, the T is transformed to a CH sound here. The letter R in Japanese can often sound like an L, with the tongue rolled against the top of the mouth. And when a word ends in a U sound in Japanese, it sounds "whispered" or even absent. So it would be much like saying "chulip".
When foreign words are used in Japanese, they try to write it as phonetically close as possible to the original word. In this case, the word came into the language before the use of the syllable TU had become accepted/widespread. Hence why they used CHU instead.
Hope that helps,
Dreams
---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------
QUESTION: Now that I know how mistaken I was in pronouncing my kitty's name, I thought I had better get a phonetic pronunciation of her sister's name. It is the Japanese word for Iris and I believe it is spelled "Ayame."
Thank you again!
Answer Hello,
These sure are cute cat names. :)
Yep, "ayame" means "iris". It's pronounced "ah-yah-may". Unlike English, where we would put the stress on the second syllable in this word, there is no stress on any syllable in a Japanese word.
