How to write Virginia in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Virginia becomes バージニア, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| バ | ba | |
| ー | – | long vowel mark: hold the sound before it a little longer |
| ジ | ji | |
| ニ | ni | |
| ア | a |
You may also see Virginia written ヴァージニア (Vājinia). Both are used; バージニア is the more common spelling.
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example バージニア・スミス for Virginia Smith.