What are some good ways to say "how to spell" in Japanese?

Question

I wanted to know the correct way to spell a compound word in Japanese, and was wondering if there is a verb that correlates to "to spell" in the Japanese language. I found 綴る, but was told this is used only for foreign languages; as I was told, it may be used in a linguistic context to speak of spelling in Japanese, but in common usage it is used mainly to refer to the spelling of foreign words. To sum it up, if I want to know the kana spelling of a word or compound word (for instance １件）what would be a few ways to ask this? Is the word 綴る used primarily in linguistic contexts? If I want to ask friends or acquaintances, are there other terms besides 書く, スペル or 読む to use? Would 仮名遣い be okay to use in this context? (I wanted to avoid saying something like そのスペルを教えてください。／そのスペルは？ as this seemed too easy)

Answer 1

The best way to request anything in Japanese (in Japan, to Japanese) is to say as little as possible and to leave as much wiggle room as possible.

I think you want [読]{よ}み[方]{かた} 'way of reading' when you have kanji to point at, and [書]{か}き方 'way of writing' when you have sound. 'Spelling' is not safe to use because there are so many ways to be wrong with kanji.

Of course always start with the usual self deprecating set-pieces about how stupid you are and how difficult Japanese is. You may think you don't have to do this with friends and colleagues, but this is part of friendliness and good manners.

Answer 2

The generally used word in Japanese for "spelling" is certainly 「スペル」, but I don't think this helps. In English "spelling" applies to latin letter languages, particularly with irregular orthography, like English and French; it also obviously applies to languages like Russian with a different alphabet. I think it is also reasonable to use it for cases like the Japanese title of the Ghibli film "Only yesterday" where the old "spelling" おもひで is used for ''omoide''. But for all other cases, I think it is best to avoid the word "spell(ing)" in English too.

If you are asking about how to write a word: どういう[書]{か}き[方]｛かた}ですか？ or perhaps asking which kanji to use: どんな[字]{じ}ですか？ If someone introduces herself as 「けいこです」 you might ask, 「どんな字ですか」 and expect something like 「めぐみのケイ、こどものコ」. Of course if you don't understand which 「ケイ」 is meant by 「めぐみ」 you may have to ask for more help: 「ちょっと、[書]{か}いてくれますか？」 assuming you have paper and pen available.

Remember that there are other questions: for example, 「[鳥]{とり}の[書]{か}き[順]{じゅん}は、どんなでしょうか？」 to ask about stroke order. There are also other answers: if you are on the stage, and have just learned that 「どんちょう」 means the main front curtain, you might ask 「どんちょうというのは、どんな字ですか？」 but you should also be prepared for answers like 「カタカナでいいでしょう？」

(This isn't strictly the equivalent of "spelling" but...) If you have something written, and can't read it: 「これは、[何]{なん}と[読]{よ}みますか？」

Answer 3

I've just always asked...

書いてくれませんか？ (Could you please write it down for me?)

入力してくれませんか？ (Could you please type it out for me?)

この言葉をゆっくり話してください。(Please say this word slowly.)

ひらがなで書いてくれませんか？ (Could you please write it in hiragana for me?)

I agree with everyone here in that 綴る seems a bit unnatural to use for Japanese itself. I asked my one friend how they "spell" in Japanese and he looked at me like I had five heads. Haha. So, it seems more common to just sound out words slowly or just write them down.

EDIT: I found if you want the word in Roman letters, just ask...

ローマ字で書いてくれませんか？ (Could you please write it in Roomaji for me?)

I imagine if you ask them to say it in Roomaji that they'd start spelling with the A, B, C, stuff. Try it. Hah.

Answer 4

You can just say 'なんて書くの？'? or ’どうやって書くの？’ - it's like 'hows it written? / how do you write it?'

You don't really 'spell' kanji.