Romaji Converter
とうきょう is tōkyō in Hepburn and tôkyô in Kunrei-shiki, and typing sushi gives スシ in katakana.
How to use
- Choose what to convert to: romaji, hiragana or katakana.
- For romaji, pick Hepburn or Kunrei-shiki and how to write long vowels.
- Type or paste the text. Romaji input can be Hepburn, Kunrei or keyboard style (shi, si, tsu, tu).
- Copy the result.
How it works
Kunrei-shiki follows the table in Cabinet Notice 「ローマ字のつづり方」 (1954), the same system as ISO 3602: し si, ち ti, つ tu, ふ hu, じ zi, しゃ sya, ちゃ tya. Hepburn writes the sounds the way English readers expect: shi, chi, tsu, fu, ji, sha, cha.
A small っ doubles the next consonant (きって kitte); in Hepburn it becomes t before ch (まっちゃ matcha). ん is n, and n' before a vowel or y so that きんえん kin'en is not read as きねん. Typing nn or n' gives ん.
Long vowels: おう, おお, うう, ああ and ええ, and the katakana mark ー, take a macron in Hepburn (ō) and a circumflex in Kunrei (ô). You can also keep the kana spelling (ou), double the vowel (oo) or drop the length as on Japanese passports (o). えい and いい are kept as ei and ii.
Katakana words from other languages (ティ, ファ, ヴァ) follow the Cabinet Notice on loanwords (1991) and are written ti, fa, va in both systems.
Hepburn and Kunrei
| Kana | Hepburn | Kunrei |
|---|---|---|
| し | shi | si |
| ち | chi | ti |
| つ | tsu | tu |
| ふ | fu | hu |
| じ | ji | zi |
| しゃ | sha | sya |
| ちゃ | cha | tya |
| じゃ | ja | zya |
| を | o | o |
| とう | tō | tô |
Sources: Cabinet Notice: ローマ字のつづり方 (1954) · Cabinet Notice: 外来語の表記 (1991)Last reviewed 2026-10-18
FAQ
Can it convert kanji?
No. A kanji has several readings and the right one depends on the word, which needs a full dictionary. Kanji are left as they are and the tool tells you. Type the reading in kana first.
Why is は written ha and not wa?
The tool converts each kana by sound value, so the particle は stays ha and へ stays he. Grammar particles need word parsing, so change them by hand if you want wa and e.
How do I type ん?
Type nn or n', or just n before a consonant or at the end. Before a vowel or y, n alone joins the next syllable: konya gives こにゃ, kon'ya gives こんや.
Does ō mean おう or おお?
Both are written ō in Hepburn. When converting romaji back to kana, ō becomes おう, the more common spelling, and katakana output uses ー.
Which system do Japanese passports use?
Hepburn without long vowel marks, for example Sato for さとう. Choose Hepburn and Omit for that style.