Name in Japanese A Annabelle

Annabelle in Japanese

アナベル
Katakana
アナベル
Hiragana
あなべる
Romaji (Hepburn)
Anaberu

This is the established spelling used for Annabelle in Japanese dictionaries, books and media.

How Annabelle sounds in Japanese

Read it one katakana at a time:

A
Na
Be
Ru

Full reading: Anaberu

Do more with Annabelle in Japanese

Why Annabelle is written in katakana

In Japanese, foreign names are written in katakana — the angular script reserved for words borrowed from other languages. So on a form, a name tag, a delivery slip or a news article in Japan, Annabelle appears as アナベル. This is the correct and respectful way a non-Japanese name is represented; it is not a kanji "translation". A Japanese reader sees アナベル and immediately reads it by its sound, Anaberu.

Katakana is a syllabary, so English sounds are fitted to the nearest Japanese syllables and every consonant (except ん) is followed by a vowel. That is why Annabelle becomes アナベル rather than a letter-for-letter copy. More than one katakana spelling can be reasonable for the same name, which is why we flag whether a spelling is a long-established one or a natural default.