How to write Olive in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Olive becomes オリーブ, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| オ | o | |
| リ | ri | |
| ー | – | long vowel mark: hold the sound before it a little longer |
| ブ | bu |
You may also see Olive written オリーヴ (Orīvu). Both are used; オリーブ is the more common spelling.
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example オリーブ・スミス for Olive Smith.