How to write Xavier in katakana
Japanese writes foreign names in katakana, one of its two alphabets, by sound rather than by spelling. Xavier becomes ザビエル, made of these parts:
| Katakana | Sound | Note |
|---|---|---|
| ザ | za | |
| ビ | bi | |
| エ | e | |
| ル | ru |
You may also see Xavier written エグザビア (Eguzabia). Both are used; ザビエル is the more common spelling.
When you write a full name, Japanese puts a middle dot between the first and last name, for example ザビエル・スミス for Xavier Smith.