How to write Alan in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Alan becomes アラン, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ア | a | |
| ラ | ra | |
| ン | n | n on its own |
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example アラン・スミス for Alan Smith.