Question about Japanese names

D

DarkFeline

後輩

5 Sep 2007

2

0

• 5 Sep 2007

• #1

Hi guys, I suppose this is my first post here and I've got a question.
I'm a Malaysian but I'm ethnically Chinese, hence I've done some research and found that I can read my Chinese name as Kanji. So I've been wondering if it's culturally acceptable in Japan if I use the Kun'yomi pronunciation of my surname instead of On'yomi? My surname is 窶氾 and the confusion stems from Wikipedia, which says it should be Rin instead of Hayashi. Which one should I be using?

 

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 5 Sep 2007

• #2

Some characters even have special readings for names, but surnames generally seem to use kunyomi. Hayashi is the Japanese reading that would be used for your surname. What wikipedia article told you otherwise?

 

undrentide

Japa'n vagyok

18 Jan 2006

3,652

310

• 5 Sep 2007

• #3

It is up to you whether you use kun-yomi (Hayashi) or on-yomi (Rin).
In the past Chinese names and Korean names written in kanji were pronounced in Japanese style, but these days we try to use the "original" pronounciation.
If you want to present your name as Japanese name, you can call yourself "Hayashi", or if you prefer to use your name as Chinese (or non-Japanese) name, you can call yourself "Rin" which is not the same as Chinese pronounciation, I guess, but closer to the original than "Hayashi".

 

D

DarkFeline

後輩

5 Sep 2007

2

0

• 5 Sep 2007

• Thread starter
• #4

nice gaijin said:

Some characters even have special readings for names, but surnames generally seem to use kunyomi. Hayashi is the Japanese reading that would be used for your surname. What wikipedia article told you otherwise?

Click to expand...

Trying to work around the no-url rule (hope I'm not committing an offence), here's the link:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_common_Chinese_surnames

Thanks for your help, Nice Gaijin and Undrentide! I was just kinda scared that I'd screw up with it comes to names. I've also given it some thought and prefered Hayashi more than Rin, but I'll decide later.

 

nice gaijin

Resident Realist

Moderator

Donor

Twenty-year veteran

8 Aug 2005

7,316

3,727

• 6 Sep 2007

• #5

well, it says "Rin (of Chinese descent) / Hayashi (of Japanese descent)" They're both valid readings for the character, so it's just a matter of preference.