[mr.calisto]

It's クレメンス. That's how Roger Clemens' name is spelled on Japanese sites.
It's レ not　り and you don't need the long sound in the middle.

I agree with Tatsuko.

[mesZibeds]

john,


Previous translation was base on the assuming you are a female. I will need to ask my translators to come up with list of masculine translation for your last name.

sorry

[Chito]

TKO

Thanks with the help with the kanji.

Anyone else have any input?

John

[DeilMikina]

Your last name Clemens in Latin means merciful and gentle.



優美 = Elegance (Literal translation)



慈心 = Kind heart (Idiomatic translation)

思心 = Thoughtful heart (Idiomatic translation)

情子 = compassionate child (Idiomatic translation)



Our dojo prefers kenji as well….

[BriKevin]

Yeah,

That's were I have the trouble. Not being a Japanese speaker or writer I have no idea as to the phonetics of any of the Kanji. I know that I can find some of their more common meanings but that doesn't often seem to go too well.

Not that it really matters. I was just looking for some "translations" of my last name into kanji.

[squeerisott]

and also for the last letter, instead of 'su', make it to be 'zu'.

But his last name is spelled "Clements", it's not Clementz. I know what you mean when I described using Kle-menz. It should've been just klee-mens. Or in Japanese romaji would be "kuri-mensu" to get the pronounciation of "clements"

[yatrahnualenu]

I would like to respectfully ask for some help in translating my name for use on a zekken or menjo.

As I understand the convention it is usually the last name that is shown on the zekken. I also understand that this should be written in Katakana?

My last name is Clemens. Phonetically this works out like Kle-menz.

It is pronounced the same as Roger Clemens (base ball pitcher) or Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain). Unfortunately I'm not related to either one.

I have some idea what characters I should use but not speaking or reading the language I would like some input to see how close I came with my home study.

Some day I would also like to get a Hanko stamp. How does this work with a name in Katakana rather than Kanji?

For those that reply, Thank You!

[zabiqapara]

In our dojo, we translate our last name into meaningful kanji rather than Katakana sound. We believed your name is extremely important. Your name is your life! It is how people identify you and where your family came about. By spell your name in Katakana, the meaning of your name is lost in translation. I also came across other Sensei who think all foreigner do not (for the lack of better word) deserve name in Kenji.

[merloermfgj]

It's クレメンス. That's how Roger Clemens' name is spelled on Japanese sites.
It's レ not　り and you don't need the long sound in the middle.

[Efonukmp]

クレーメンス

from what you gave us "Kle-menz" hope this helps!

Actually it's

クリーメンス


I made a mistake on the second letter.

[glopomcyte]

Darn, missed the edit cutoff!

Just wanted to add:

I decided to go with Katakana because I don't want to seem too pretencious. My name is not Japanese and I'm not trying to pass myself off as Japanese.

That said, I am curious as to how one would translate my name into Kanji and what the "meaning" of those Kanji would be.

[2swasseneons]

Same here, Tatsuko is right. It might look a little scrunched though since you're trying to fit 5 letters on there.

[Kolovorotkes]

クレーメンス

from what you gave us "Kle-menz" hope this helps!

[Centurnion]

Actually it's

クリーメンス


I made a mistake on the second letter.

and also for the last letter, instead of 'su', make it to be 'zu'.

[CHEAPPoem]

We do something similar in our dojo. If the person has a name that translates well into kanji (either phoneticaly or by meaning) Kanji is used instead of katakana.

An example of meaning - we have a student with the last name of White - sensei ordered him a zekken with the character "shiro" on it. Looks great.

An example of phonetics - I have an odd dutch last name, and when I had to get a hanko in Japan my students thought Kanji would look so much better that a ton of katakana, so they gave me 3 kanji which have the same sound as 7 katakana characters. Plus, they mean "to be accompanied by the god of thunder" - whoo! Now if only my kendo was as cool as my kanji....

[MeverikcNils]

But his last name is spelled "Clements", it's not Clementz. I know what you mean when I described using Kle-menz. It should've been just klee-mens. Or in Japanese romaji would be "kuri-mensu" to get the pronounciation of "clements"

Guys, guys.
I think #2 mouse said his last name was "Clemens". Where did those "z" and "t" came from?

My only doubt is... why use "kuri-mensu" instead of "kure-mensu"? o.o?

EDIT:
Never mind my comment on the "z", he mentioned it regarding his name phonetically. Still, my doubt on the "ri-" instead of "re-" remains.

[neniajany]

優美 = Elegance (Literal translation)

慈心 = Kind heart (Idiomatic translation)

思心 = Thoughtful heart

情子 = compassionate child (Idiomatic translation)

Interesting choices.

You don't want the translation to come across like some foreigner that just opened a dictionary and picked something they liked either.

For example, 情子 is out right tacky. A native speaker would immediately associate it as a weird contraction for 多情種子, which roughly translates as someone who "loves" too much. If not for the contraction, I would still think it refers to a child born out of wedlock.

If you choose 慈心 or 思心, they'd think you'd be a buddhist nun or something.

優美 is an adjective...it isn't even a noun. Would you introduce yourself as "Hi, my name is elegent...what is your name?"

Conventionally, people pick something that sounds phonetically correct first...then if you can pick something where the meaning works as well, all the sweeter.

Really though, I'd stick with katakana unless you can find something nice.

This reminds me of a T-shirt that my friend wore.

She's a very slim girl who isn't very well endowed and very sensitive about that fact.

One day, she wore a T-shirt that has the kanji "平".

When I asked her why she was wearing that, she said, "Aren't you Chinese...don't you know it means peace and harmory?"

Little did she know that unless it is written with two characters as "和平" or "平安", it just means "FLAT"....

FWIW.

[suiviouse]

Thanks for all the input Guys!

That is pretty much what I came up with on my own. But I also had the question of the "ri" versus "re". For no good reason I think that the "re" is more true to the way my name is pronounced. I suppose I could use either one if I wanted!

I can't believe it but I didn't even think of looking to see how Roger Clemens name was spelled in Katakana. The thought never crossed my mind!

I think that I'll stay with the Katakana spelling for now. However, since someone else brought up the subject.....

What kanji would one use for my last name?