How to write Malaysia in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Malaysia becomes マレーシア, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| マ | ma | |
| レ | re | |
| ー | – | long vowel mark: hold the sound before it a little longer |
| シ | shi | |
| ア | a |
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example マレーシア・スミス for Malaysia Smith.