MangaDex Style:Romanization for Japanese Titles

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This is the style guide that MangaDex uses to Romanize Japanese titles on the site. These have been adopted from MangaBaka's Romanization style guide who originally wrote the original text. The goal is to have titles consistently Romanized across MangaDex, by defining a standard that is easy to read and write, while staying true to the linguistic norms.

Base Romanization

Modified Hepburn Romanization

At the base we use modified Hepburn for Romanization, meaning:

• は, へ, and を as particles are always Romanized as wa, e, and o.
• ん is always Romanized as n or as n' — with an (straight) apostrophe — when the ん is followed by a vowel or y.
• ず and づ are both Romanized both as zu as they are phonetically identical.

Examples

• 私は学校へ友達を迎えに行きます is romanized as Watashi wa Gakkou e Tomodachi o Mukae ni Ikimasu.
• 婚約 is Romanized as Kon'yaku, and similary 転移 is Romanized as Ten'i.
• 女 is Romanized as Onna there is no need to apostrophe the double n.

Adjustments made to modified Hepburn

We have made the following adjustments on modified Hepburn for ease of use, clarity and community recognition;

• Represent long vowels using full-length spellings (e.g., ou, oo, uu, aa, ee, ii) instead of using macrons (e.g., ō, ū, ā ē, ī).
• Represent the sokuon (っ) with a “ch”-syllable as cch instead of the “strict” modified Hepburn tch, however the tch Romanization shall be used in the alternative title.

Regarding loanwords, non-native names and native names

Render Non-assimilated or identifiable loanwords, and non-Japanese names in their established source equivalents whenever identifiable (e.g., スキル → Skill, ダンジョン → Dungeon, クリス → Chris).

Retain clipped slang, or fully lexicalized loanwords in everyday Japanese, where the Japanese phonology or sociocultural meaning is distinct (e.g., ギャル → Gyaru, バイト → Baito, ラブホ → Rabuho).

Always Romanize native Japanese personal and place names using Japanese Romanization rules, even if an English exonym is widely known (e.g., 東京 → Toukyou, 大阪 → Oosaka).

Capitalization

As we are Romanizing titles of Japanese literature, we use the following capitalization style:

1. Capitalize all nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs.
2. Keep lowercase all particles, copulas (including their inflections or grammar bridges), and conjunctions, even when they appear at the end of a sentence.

Examples

• Ore wa Maou de aru (I am the Demon King).
• Akuyaku Reijou de atta node (Because I was a Villainess).

Word spacing, fusions and hyphenation

Keep all words — including particles, copulas (and their inflections), and conjunctives — separate, except for the following specific cases:

• Conjunctives and grammar bridges are kept fused and lowercase when functioning as a single unit rather than a sequence of distinct parts (e.g., なのに → nanoni, でも → demo, ですが → desuga).
• Morpheme ん (from の) is fused with the following element to prevent a loose letter in the title Romanization (e.g., んです → ndesu, んだけど → ndakedo).
• Auxiliaries are always fused to the main verb or adjective—whether via the -te form or the stem (e.g, 見てください → Mitekudasai, 可愛すぎる → Kawaisugiru, してない → Shitenai).
• Fossilized adverbs are kept fused as a single unit (e.g., いつの間にか → Itsunomanika, なんとなく → Nantonaku, ひょっとして → Hyottoshite, もしかしたら → Moshikashitara)
• Lexicalized compounds and generic groups are fused when they form
  • a single dictionary unit (e.g. 女の子 → Onnanoko),
  • a profession (e.g, 駄菓子屋 → Dagashiya), or
  • describes a group or category. (e.g. 文芸部 → Bungeibu).
• Thematic portmanteaus and coined terms are treated as single, fused lexical units, even if they are not found in standard dictionaries. (e.g., 異世改活 → Iseikaikatsu, 死に戻り → Shinimodori).
• Reduplications (echo) are fused into a single word when a word is repeated for emphasis or as onomatopoeia (ムリムリ → Murimuri, ワクワク → Wakuwaku, フワフワ → Fuwafuwa).
• Leading honorifics o- and go- are fused without a hyphen and capitalized (お姫 → Ohime, ご主人 → Goshujin).
• Hyphenation is used to protect the identity of a proper noun or to mark functional/relational boundaries that are not part of a compound noun’s core identity.

Kudasai (ください) in modern Japanese grammar is a request auxiliary when it is preceeded by a -te form of a verb, and is thus always fused like auxilary verbs (見てください → Mitekudasai).

Semantic Binomial and Determinative Compounds

Semantic binomial compounds may be split and Romanized separately for clarity and consistency.

Similarly, determinative compound nouns are also Romanized separately even when written as a single dictionary word in Japanese.

• 王侯貴族 → Oukou Kizoku (“kings and nobles”)
• 国外追放 → Kokugai Tsuihou (“banishment from the country”)
• 国内旅行 → Kokunai Ryokou (“domestic travel”)

Strongly lexicalized idioms, such as four-character idiomatic compounds (yojijukugo), should remain fused, since they function as a single lexical unit

• 悠々自適 → Yuuyuujiteki
• 一石二鳥 → Issekinichou

-te form verbs

Two consecutive -te form verbs are always separated. Any auxiliaries present are fused to the immediately preceding final -te form.

放っておく→ Houtteoku: Is kept fused, as it is a set dictionary expression / compound verb.

放っておいてくれ → Houtte Oitekure: The added auxiliary verb turns oku into its -te form, separating it from houtte. The auxiliary kureru is then fused.

放っておいてくれません → Houtte Oitekuremasen: An extra contracted auxiliary -masen is present, and is directly fused to the preceding auxiliary verb.

Noun + suru

When suru or suru inflected forms (shita, shite, sareta, saseru, etc.) attaches productively to a (productive) noun write it separately and capitalize it.

These are simply nouns that gain verbal force through the addition of suru; dictionaries may list them as so called suru-verbs but morphologically they are still a noun + suru.

Examples

• 転職する → Tenshoku Suru
• 辞退して → Jitai Shite
• 転生した → Tensei Shita
• 追放された → Tsuihou Sareta
• 愛します → Aishimasu

By contrast, fixed or lexicalized suru-verbs such as 恋する (Koisuru), 愛する (Aisuru), or 画する (Kakusuru) are Romanized fused, since suru is no longer detachable but part of the verb stem.

Dictionaries may list them as normal suru-verbs, found by its suru base form, and they should be treated as a verb.

Examples

• 愛して → Aishite
• 恋した → Koishita
• 画された → Kakusareta

Auxiliary verbs or contracted auxiliaries are directly fused to the suru-form.

Examples

• 毛嫌いしていた → Kegirai Shiteita
• 溺愛されてました → Dekiai Saretemashita
• 全国配信してしまう → Zenkoku Haishin Shiteshimau
• 追放してきた → Tsuihou Shitekita
• 愛してる → Aishiteru

Note that -su verbs (stem) are unrelated to suru; their -shite or -shita forms come from regular conjugation (e.g, 隠して → Kakushite, 話した → Hanashita).

Expanded explanation and examples

Auxiliaries

Japanese auxiliaries elements are always fused with the preceding verb, adverb or adjective to modify aspect, voice or nuance and can be roughly divided in three groups.

Auxiliary verbs

These typically follow the -te form of a main verb and express sequence, aspect, completion or request.

Examples

Auxiliary verb examples: -kuru, -iku, -shimau, -ageru, -morau, -kudasai.

Examples with a main element:

• 頑張ってくれ → Ganbattekure
• 見てください → Mitekudasai
• 行ってしまった → Itteshimatta

Contracted auxiliaries

These represent shortened or conjugated forms of auxiliary verbs.

Examples

Contracted auxiliary examples: -teiru/-teru (from -iru), -teita/-teta (from -ita), -you (from -iyou), -mashita.

Examples with a main element:

• 楽しんでいたら → Tanoshindeitara
• 食べてる → Tabeteru
• していた → Shiteita

Adjectival auxiliaries

These express degree/intensity, desire or ease/difficulty.

Examples

Adjectival auxiliary examples: -sugiru, -yasui, -nikui, -rashii.

Examples with a main element:

• 可愛すぎる → Kawaisugiru
• 集まりすぎました → Atsumarusugimashita
• 読みやすい → Yomiyasui

Thematic portmanteaus and coined terms

Many Japanese titles feature unique, coined compounds (zougo) created by blending or clipping multiple existing words into a single keyword. These function as a specific "brand name" or thematic identity for the series.

For Romanization, these are to be treated as single, fused lexical units, even if they are not found in standard dictionaries. This preserves the wordplay and distinguishes the term from standard descriptive modifiers. If the component parts are clipped or intended to be read as a single concept, they should always be fused.

Examples

• 異世改活 → Iseikaikatsu (Isekai + Kaikatsu, overlapping "kai" reading from both words).
• ガチャンキイ → Gachankii (Gacha + Yankii, the "ya" (ャ) however is lost with the Romanization).
• 魔王城 → Maoujou (Mouou + Oujou, overlapping "Ou" (王) from both words).

Hyphenation

The word following the hyphen should always be in lower-case and without extra spaces surrounding the hyphen.

Honorifics, titles and household/clan names

• 直美さん → Naomi-san (name + honorific)
• お兄ちゃん → Onii-chan (kinship + honorific)
• 田中先生 → Tanaka-sensei (name + title)
• 魔王様 → Maou-sama (demon king + honorific)
• 天使様 → Tenshi-sama (rank + honorific)
• 聖騎士さま → Seikishi-sama (rank + honorific)
• 京兼家 → Kyougane-ke (household/clan name)
• 篝家 → Kagari-ke (household/clan name)

Titles that are a standalone noun title, such as 陛下, are always Romanized separately and without a hyphen; 国王陛下 → Kokuou Heika.

Be careful of lexicalized kinship terms as they are fused without an hyphen.

• お姉さん / おねえさん → Oneesan (elder sister)
• お兄さん / おにいさん → Oniisan (elder brother)
• 叔父さん / おじさん → Ojisan (uncle or middle-aged man)
• 叔母さん / おばさん → Obasan (aunt or middle-aged woman)
• 奥さん → Okusan (wife)
• お嫁さん → Oyomesan (bride + polite prefix)
• おっさん → Ossan (old man)

Avoid double hyphenation by fusing the honorific when applicable.

• れい姉ちゃん → Rei-neechan

Multi-word expressions

These words function as a single semantic or grammatical unit, particularly modifier–noun phrases, semi-lexicalized constructions, or commonly recognized set expressions. This is especially common when the first element is a katakana loanword or Roman-letter term or abbreviation, where the hyphen helps clarify word boundaries and preserves the perception of a single semantic unit

• Ｓランク → S-Rank (Considered as a fully loaned word, so it is capitalized as such)
• バイト先 → Baito-saki (先 is fused with a hyphen due to the katakana loanword; location)
• ポーション師 → Potion-shi (師 is fused with a hyphen due to the katanana loanword; master)
• Ｓ級 → S-kyuu (級 is fused with a hyphen due to the Roman letter term; class)
• 僕たち → Boku-tachi (たち is always fused with a hyphen; pluralization)
• 環状戦 → Kanjou-sen (級 is always fused with a hyphen; battle/war/fight)
• 契約婚 → Keiyaku-kon (“contract marriage” hyphenated due to the clipped 婚約)

Arabic numerals and their counters and modifiers

Arabic numerals followed by counters are always fused with a hyphen to the counter.

The counter uses its regular numeral-attached reading; the standard form used in dictionaries and this is most often On’yomi, but not always.

• ２人 → 2-nin (and not as 2-ri using the -ri from “futari” special reading)
• １０００体 → 1000-tai
• 10年 → 10-nen
• 8月31日 → 8-gatsu 31-nichi
• ８号 → 8-gou

Avoid double hyphenation by fusing the modifier to the counter or by fusing the counter to the preceding number unit.

• １０年間 → 10-nenkan as number + counter (年) + fused modifier (間)
• ２２２日目 → 222-nichime as number + counter (日) + fused modifier (目)
• ３１番目 → 31-banme as number + counter (番) + fused modifier (目)
• ６歳上 → 4-saijou as number + counter (歳) + fused lexicalized (上)
• １０歳下 → 10-saishita as number + counter (歳) + fused lexicalized (下)
• ８万枚 → 8-manmai as number + number unit (万) + fused counter (枚)
• ３億円 → 3-okuen as number + number unit (億) + fused counter (円)
• １０万年 → 10-mannen as number + number unit (万) + fused counter (年)

後 and 前 are treated as unit-final temporal suffixes in numeral constructions, and they are also fused to the counter to avoid double hyphenation.

When 後 or 前 follow an Arabic-numeral counter construction, they are treated as unit-final temporal suffixes and read as -go and -mae respectively.

• １００日後 → 100-nichigo
• １００年後 → 100-nengo
• １００日前 → 100-nichimae
• １００年前 → 100-nenmae

 Note: While -zen is technically a Sino-Japanese reading (On-yomi) that matches -go, in modern Japanese, -zen as a suffix is almost exclusively formal, historical, or academic.

When the counter is a loanword then write the number and counter like it would be in English, the hyphen can then be used for the modifier.

• 5キロ → 5 Kilo (capitalized because it is used in a title)
• 5キロ減 → 5 Kilo-ge (number + counter + modifier)
• 2メートル → 2 Meter (capitalized because it is used in a title)
• 2メートル越え → 2 Meter-koe (number + counter + modifier)

Native kanji numerals and their counters

Native kanji numerals followed by counters are always fused without a hyphen to the counter, any modifier present is also fused directly to the counter.

This ensures that suppletive numeral–counter readings are reflecting natural lexicalization and are correctly preserved in Romanization.

• 二人 → Futari (and not Ninin; suppletive reading)
• 一年 → Ichinen
• 四年生 → Yonensei
• 八男 → Hachinan

後 and 前 are treated as unit-final temporal suffixes in numeral constructions, and they are bound with a hyphen to the counter like normal bound suffixes.

• 二日前 → Futsuka-mae
• 数日前 → Suujitsu-mae
• 三年後 → Sannen-go

Quotations

Whenever quotations are used, they are always Romanized as double straight quotation marks, i.e. "Text".

Various types of Japanese quotation marks

• Japanese quotation marks: 「文章」
• Any straight or smart quotation marks: ❝文章❞
• Lenticular brackets: 【文章】( Note: can also be used for non-quotation purposes, in which case see: other special characters)

Other special characters

Full-width square brackets ［文章］or lenticular brackets 【文章】 when unclear if they are/clearly not for quotation (e.g. skill names), are to be Romanized as normal square brackets. I.e. [Text].

Double angle brackets 《文章》or the double less/greater than symbols ≪文章≫ are to be Romanized to double straight quotation marks. I.e. "Text".

Any other (Unicode) symbols present (e.g. ×,♥,♡,★,☆,○,♂,♀) shall be copied as-is with a space around these symbols, unless the author/cover styling makes it clear there shouldn't be any spacing.

Examples

• 《魔力無限》 → Maryoku Mugen
• L♥DK → L♥DK (kept as-is without any spaces)
• まどか★マギカ → Madoka★Magica (author/cover specific styling)
• 黒騎士♂、戦闘メイド♀に → Kurokishi ♂, Sentou Maid ♀ ni

Suffixes

Any suffix after a personal- or placename or non-embedded identifiable loanword are always hyphenated.

Hyphens mark tight morphological fusion, while separation marks syntactic or semantic independence.

Conceptional and identity suffixes

Suffixes that transform the base noun into a new concept, class, or trope create a single identity pillar. These type of suffixes are typically fused with their base noun.

Examples

• 屋 (-ya, “shop suffix”)
  • 本屋 → Hon'ya (Book Store)
  • パン屋 → Panya (Bakery)
  • ゲーム屋 → Game-ya (Game Store, hyphenated because the base noun is a loanword)
• 化 (-ka, “-ification suffix”)
  • 猛獣化 → Moujuuka (Beastification)
  • 悪役化 → Akuyakuka (Villainization)
• 婚 (-kon, “marriage suffix”)
  • 契約婚 → Keiyakukon (Contract Marriage)
  • 転生婚 → Tenseikon (Reincarnated Marriage)
  • 速婚 → Sokukon (Quick Marriage)

Attribute and bound suffixes

Suffixes that describe a specific attribute, lifestyle, or action performed upon/by the noun. These often undergo rendaku, which must be reflected in the romanization.

Kanji	Reading	Handling Logic	Native Example	Loanword/Letter Example	Suffix meaning
たち	-tachi	Always hyphenated	私たち → Watashi-tachi	エルフたち → Elf-tachi	Pluralization
好き	-zuki / -suki	Always hyphenated	オシャレ好き → Oshare-zuki	ＴＳ好き → TS-suki	-lover
殺し	-goroshi / -koroshi	Always hyphenated	神殺し → Kami-goroshi	モンスター → Monster-koroshi	-slayer
ぐらし	-gurashi	Always hyphenated	辺境ぐらし → Henkyou-gurashi	スローライフ → Slow Life-gurashi	-life
付き, つき	-tsuki	Always hyphenated Does not undergo rendaku	座敷童子付き → Zashikiwarashi-tsuki 庭つき → Niwa-tsuki 皇帝つき → Koutei-tsuki	キス付き → Kiss-tsuki	-included, -attached, -assistant

Suffix-like content designators

These suffix-like content designators (編, 譚, 章, 録, etc.) have their grammatical behavior shifts depending on what precedes them;

• When directly attached to a single noun or compound, they act as suffixes and are hyphenated to the preceding word (冬編 → Fuyu-hen, 妖怪譚 → Youkai-tan).
• When following a phrase or clause-like structure, they function as independent nouns and are separated and capitalized (俺が最強になった編 → Ore ga Saikyou ni Natta Hen, 斬吸血鬼譚 → Zan Kyuuketsuki Tan).

Particles, copulas and conjunctions

Particles

Expression	Romanization	Function / Meaning
は	wa	topic particle
が	ga	subject particle
を	o	object particle
の	no	Genitive or nominalizer particle
な	na	adjectival(-noun) linking particle or sentence-ending particle
に	ni	particle “to / at / in”
と	to	particle “and / with / that”
で	de	particle “at / in / by means of”
へ	e	particle “toward”
も	mo	particle “also / even”
や	ya	particle “and / among other things”
った	tte	particle “[you/he/she/they] said / even if”
だけ	dake	particle “only”
まで	made	particle “to / until”
から	kara	particle “from / because”
より	yori	particle “x rather than y / x over y”
にて	nite	particle (formal / literary) “at / in / by means of / on the occasion of”
しか	shika	particle “nothing but / except / no more than” always followed by a negation
くらい	kurai	particle “approximately, about, around”  Note: if it undergoes rendaku (after a simple noun) it is a hypenated -gurai suffix
ばかり	bakari	particle “only / merely / nothing but / no more than”
ばっか	bakka	particle “only / merely / nothing but / no more than”; colloquial form of ばかり
なんか	nanka	particle “something like... / things like...”; not to be confused with 何か (Nanka)
なんて	nante	particle “things like / such a thing as / like”
など	nado	particle-like “etc” / “and the like”
のか	no ka	nominalizer + question particle structure, always separate, even if some dictionaries list it as a “particle”
とか	toka	conjunctive particle “and so on” / “for example”
けど	kedo	conjunctive particle “but / although”
でも	demo	conjunctive particle “but / however”
し	shi	conjunctive particle “and / not only that / but...”
か	ka	sentence-ending particle to indicate a question or after alternatives in a summary, always separate
ね	ne	sentence-ending particle “right / isn’t it”, always separate
わ	wa	sentence-ending particles for emphasis or tone (feminine), always separate
ぞ / ぜ / さ	zo / ze / sa	sentence-ending particles for emphasis or tone (masculine), always separate
もん	mon	sentence-ending / explanatory particle-like contraction (from もの) indicates reason or excuse, or dissatisfaction (feminine)

Particle and copula combinations

Expression	Romanization	Function / Meaning
だと	da to	copula + quotative particle, always separate; marks said / thought / considered content
だに	da ni	copula + particle, always separate, even if even if archaic or when some dictionaries list it as a “particle”

Copulas

Expression	Romanization	Function / Meaning
だ	da	plain copula
だった	datta	plain past copula
です	desu	polite copula
でした	deshita	polite past copula
なの	na no	copula + nominalizer structure, always separate, even when used sentence-finally or labeled an “expression”
だろう	darou	plain conjectural of copula だ “probably / I suppose”
でしょう	deshou	polite conjectural of copula です “probably / I suppose”
でしょ	desho	colloquial contraction of deshou “right? / isn’t it”

Copula grammar bridges

Expression	Romanization	Function / meaning
である / であります	de aru / de arimasu	Copula Bridge “is / am / are”
であった	de atta	Past Copula Bridge “was / were”
であれ	de are	Imperative/Conditional Bridge “no matter...”
として / とする	to shite / to suru	Capacity Bridge “as a...”
とすると / とすれば	to suru to / to sureba	Conjunction Bridge “if so / then”
にした	ni shita	Decision/Selection Bridge “made into / decided on”
について	ni tsuite	Topic Bridge “about...”
に対して	ni taishite	Relational Bridge “towards/against...”
によって	ni yotte	Causal Bridge “by/due to...”
のこと (に / を)	no koto (ni / o)	Structural Bridge (concerning / regarding)
のはず (の)	no hazu (no)	Modal Bridge (expectation) / “should be”
のわけ (は)	no wake (wa)	Structural Bridge (reason) / “the case is”
のある / のない	no aru / no nai	Existence Bridge “with / without / that has”

These are only some examples, be aware of any possible inflections of aru like “de arou” and suru like “shimashita”!
Any auxiliary that follows a bridge "sticks" to the vocal part (e.g., “to shitekuru”)

As we always Romanize da to as two separate particles, proper chaining can occur.

Expression	Romanization	Function / meaning
だとしても	da to shite mo	Concessive Bridge ("even if it is...")
だとしたら	da to shitara	Conditional Bridge ("if it were...")
だとしてもらう	da to shitemorau	Benefactive Chain ("have them be...")

Spacing and capitalization with grammar bridges

While our goal is consistent visual hierarchy, we prioritize structural accuracy over capitalization perfection.

Structural accuracy: The most important factor is maintaining correct spacing and keeping base particles lowercase in these grammar bridges.

Capitalization perfection: If a volunteer accidentally capitalizes the verbal element of a bridge this is not considered a hard error, as the visual spacing is preserved.

Critical: Correct Spacing and particles lower case.

• Use “to shite”, not “Toshite”
• Use “de aru”, not “Dearu”
• Use “you na node”, not “you nanode”

Preferred: Lowercase bridge-verbs or formal nouns

• Use “to shite”, not “to Shite”
• Use “de aru”, not “de Aru”
• Use “you na node”, not “You na node”

As long as the bridge remains split and the particle is lowercase, the metadata remains clean and searchable. We value your time — don't stress the small stuff!

Example: 双子の姉が神子として引き取られて、私は捨てられたけど多分私が神子である。→ Futago no Ane ga Miko to shite Hikitorarete, Watashi wa Suterareta kedo Tabun Watashi ga Miko de aru.

Exception: ja / de wa + emphasis hooks

In case where ja (じゃ) or de wa (では) is followed by a negative adjective (e.g., “Nai”, “Nakatta”, “Nakunaru”) or a strong adjectival noun (e.g., “Dame”), the element following the copula is always capitalized.

These words act as a “hook” for the negation or emphasis of the title. Keeping them lowercase by the base bridge rule would cause the “hook” to fizzle out in a “lowercase soup”, especially in long titles.

Example: じゃなくなるとしても → ja Nakunaru to shite mo

Example: 聖女じゃないから → Seijo ja Nai kara

な + ん + copula sequences

The な + ん + copula sequence is treated as a single grammatical bridge:

1. The morpheme ん (from の) fuses directly with the following copula or conjunctive as per the core style (e.g., んです → ndesu).
2. The initial な is then fused to create a single lowercase unit which reflects the function of a fixed explanatory phrase (“it is that…” / “the reason is…”).

Ensure that it nan comes from the particles な + の, and not from 何 (“What”) as it would be otherwise separated and capitalized (e.g., 何ですか → Nan desu ka as for “What is it?”).

Examples

• そうなんです → sou nandesu
• そうなんだ → sou nanda