Quote:
Originally Posted by Nagoyankee
Truth is you don't know which one until you ask the name's owner. The pronunciation is exactly the same. Unlike in Chinese, Japanese syllables don't have different tones.
This is why we (Japanese) often ask for the characters used in the other person's name when we introduce each other verbally.
Finally, contrary to what seems to be the belief among "Japan lovers", we don't talk about what our names mean very often. I've never quite understood why I'm asked that question everytime I meet someone from North America. I don't because I've never seen two Americans asking each other for the meaning of their names. Besides, it's not the Japanese name that has a meaning. It's the individual kanji used that has a meaning.
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i see, that explains everything
one of my friend took a japanese class and he told me that japanese actually have two tones [?] if that is correct.
which i think isn't that much noticeable since it's only two. almost like speaking english, which doesn't have any tones.
