Name in Japanese

[hamykia]

I was thinking about the different ways one can write their name in Japanese, and I decided to try, so I used WaKaN to search some characters and this is what I liked best.
Well, I show you the three ways to write my name in Japanese: in Katakana (because it's a foreign name) in Kanji according to the meaning, and according to reading.

1) Katakana:

Comments

[faded_lace]

I agree with you that kanji are more aesthetically pleasing, but as far as my experience goes, it doesn't seem like "the right thing to do" in terms of representing yourself in Japan... ^^;; Having kanji that you like to say is yours unofficially is fun, but I know the Japanese government doesn't accept kanji in terms of legal name in Japan when filling out forms or getting hanko (and I actually have kanji that's mine, since I'm Chinese.) :/ So... I guess I'd say, if you like kanji, keep them around for fun, but when you're actually writing your name in Japan, use the kana? ^^;; As fencer_x said, my experience is that if you give kanji as your name to most Japanese people, you'll get thought of as "cute" in a patronizing way...

[hamykia]

Katakana then
But I don't get that "cute in a patronizing way" thing.
Can it be bad if someone thinks you are cute?
In Spain it's not something bad, so I wonder, is it something bad in Japan, or can it be something bad?

[faded_lace]

I don't think it's necessarily a cultural thing, because I've experienced it in every country I've been to, but maybe it's the sort of thing that gets lost in translation? The way we mean it is that it's not thinking of someone as cute in a complementary way, but looking down on that person as childish or naive or silly. Does that make sense?

[hamykia]

Ahh, I think so?
Maybe?
As I reading it I thought about Ami-chan from the anime Toradora!
At the beginning she acts like she is stupid, clumsy and slow, in order to get people to like her better, because she is afraid that her real personality will make people hate her.
Something like that?

[faded_lace]

I'm not familiar with Toradora, but I don't think that's quite it. It's more like... thinking someone is naive, unsophisticated, or immature, but laughing at it or thinking it's amusing rather than annoying. Sorry I can't really explain it better-- I think it's sort of a weird connotation in English and I don't really know how one might say it in Japanese. ^^;;; At any rate, I'm sure it's really not a big deal.

[hamykia]

Sorry, I think I am kinda paranoid xD
When Japanese people smile sometimes they are really angry, now I'm going to wonder too, if when they say kawaii, it's good or bad xDD

[faded_lace]

Well, I think you're pretty safe with kawaii. ^^;;; I don't think it's something that translates directly that way. I don't want to make you paranoid!

[hamykia]

haha, thanx for your help
I think maybe it's because people are really blunt in Spain, I am worried about understanding Japanese people correctly xDDD
In Spain you are either naive or cunning, people call you silly to mean you are a good person, but I think Japan is the other way round, so it makes me feel uneasy xD

[faded_lace]

Yeah, people are definitely not straightforward for the most part in Japan, so I feel you. ^^;;;

[hamykia]

I remember whe I asked my first Japanese friend if she would come to the cinema with us. Due to her affirmative answer I was not sure she wanted to come, but my other friend thought she would definitely come, so she was surprised when, after waiting for her for a while, I told her to phone her so we could go buy the tickets and she said she was at home xD