How to write Giovanni in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Giovanni becomes ジョバンニ, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ジョ | jo | two characters read as one sound |
| バ | ba | |
| ン | n | n on its own |
| ニ | ni |
You may also see Giovanni written ジョヴァンニ (Jovanni). Both are used; ジョバンニ is the more common spelling.
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example ジョバンニ・スミス for Giovanni Smith.