Editing Kanji (section)

===Place names===
Several famous place names, including [[names of Japan|those of Japan]] itself ({{Nihongo2|日本}} {{translit|ja|Nihon}} or sometimes {{translit|ja|Nippon}}), those of some cities such as [[Tokyo]] ({{Nihongo2|東京}} {{translit|ja|Tōkyō}}) and [[Kyoto]] ({{Nihongo2|京都}} {{translit|ja|Kyōto}}), and those of the main islands [[Honshu]] ({{Nihongo2|本州}} {{translit|ja|Honshū}}), [[Kyushu]] ({{Nihongo2|九州}} {{translit|ja|Kyūshū}}), [[Shikoku]] ({{Nihongo2|四国}} {{translit|ja|Shikoku}}), and [[Hokkaido]] ({{Nihongo2|北海道}} {{translit|ja|Hokkaidō}}) are read with {{translit|ja|on'yomi}}; however, the majority of Japanese place names are read with {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}: {{Nihongo2|大阪}} {{translit|ja|Ōsaka}}, {{Nihongo2|青森}} {{translit|ja|[[Aomori Prefecture|Aomori]]}}, {{Nihongo2|箱根}} {{translit|ja|[[Hakone]]}}. Names often use characters and readings that are not in common use outside of names. When characters are used as abbreviations of place names, their reading may not match that in the original. The [[Osaka]] ({{Nihongo2|大阪}}) and [[Kobe]] ({{Nihongo2|神戸}}) baseball team, the [[Hanshin Tigers|Hanshin]] ({{Nihongo2|阪神}}) Tigers, take their name from the {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} of the second kanji of {{translit|ja|Ōsaka}} and the first of {{translit|ja|Kōbe}}. The name of the [[Keisei Narita Airport Line|Keisei]] ({{Nihongo2|京成}}) railway line—linking Tokyo ({{Nihongo2|東京}}) and [[Narita, Chiba|Narita]] ({{Nihongo2|成田}})—is formed similarly, although the reading of {{Nihongo2|京}} from {{Nihongo2|東京}} is {{translit|ja|kei}}, despite {{translit|ja|kyō}} already being an {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} in the word {{translit|ja|Tōkyō}}.

[[Japanese family name]]s are also usually read with {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}: {{Nihongo2|山田}} {{translit|ja|Yamada}}, {{Nihongo2|田中}} {{translit|ja|Tanaka}}, {{Nihongo2|鈴木}} {{translit|ja|Suzuki}}. Japanese [[given name]]s often have very irregular readings. Although they are not typically considered {{translit|ja|jūbako}} or {{translit|ja|yutō}}, they often contain mixtures of {{translit|ja|kun'yomi}}, {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} and {{translit|ja|nanori}}, such as {{Nihongo2|大助}} {{translit|ja|Daisuke}} [{{translit|ja|on-kun}}], {{Nihongo2|夏美}} {{translit|ja|Natsumi}} [{{translit|ja|kun-on}}]. Being chosen at the discretion of the parents, the readings of given names do not follow any set rules, and it is impossible to know with certainty how to read a person's name without independent verification. Parents can be quite creative, and rumors abound of children called {{Nihongo2|地球}} {{translit|ja|Āsu}} ("Earth") and {{Nihongo2|天使}} {{translit|ja|Enjeru}} ("Angel"); neither are common names, and have normal readings {{translit|ja|chikyū}} and {{translit|ja|tenshi}} respectively. Some common Japanese names can be written in multiple ways, e.g., Akira can be written as {{Nihongo2|亮}}, {{Nihongo2|彰}}, {{Nihongo2|明}}, {{Nihongo2|顕}}, {{Nihongo2|章}}, {{Nihongo2|聴}}, {{Nihongo2|光}}, {{Nihongo2|晶}}, {{Nihongo2|晄}}, {{Nihongo2|彬}}, {{Nihongo2|昶}}, {{Nihongo2|了}}, {{Nihongo2|秋良}}, {{Nihongo2|明楽}}, {{Nihongo2|日日日}}, {{Nihongo2|亜紀良}}, {{Nihongo2|安喜良}} and many other characters and kanji combinations not listed,<ref>{{Cite web|title = ateji Archives|url = http://www.tofugu.com/tag/ateji/|website = Tofugu|access-date = 2016-02-18|language = en-US|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151225050755/http://www.tofugu.com/tag/ateji|archive-date = December 25, 2015|url-status = dead}}</ref> Satoshi can be written as {{Nihongo2|聡}}, {{Nihongo2|哲}}, {{Nihongo2|哲史}}, {{Nihongo2|悟}}, {{Nihongo2|佐登史}}, {{Nihongo2|暁}}, {{Nihongo2|訓}}, {{Nihongo2|哲士}}, {{Nihongo2|哲司}}, {{Nihongo2|敏}}, {{Nihongo2|諭}}, {{Nihongo2|智}}, {{Nihongo2|佐登司}}, {{Nihongo2|總}}, {{Nihongo2|里史}}, {{Nihongo2|三十四}}, {{Nihongo2|了}}, {{Nihongo2|智詞}}, etc.,<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jisho.org/search/Satoshi|title=Satoshi|website=jisho.org|access-date=2016-03-05|archive-date=April 19, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160419090542/http://jisho.org/search/satoshi|url-status=live}}</ref> and Haruka can be written as {{Nihongo2|遥}}, {{Nihongo2|春香}}, {{Nihongo2|晴香}}, {{Nihongo2|遥香}}, {{Nihongo2|春果}}, {{Nihongo2|晴夏}}, {{Nihongo2|春賀}}, {{Nihongo2|春佳}}, and several other possibilities.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://jisho.org/search/Haruka|title=Haruka|website=jisho.org|access-date=2016-03-05|archive-date=March 2, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160302030038/http://jisho.org/search/haruka|url-status=live}}</ref> Common patterns do exist, however, allowing experienced readers to make a good guess for most names. To alleviate any confusion on how to pronounce the names of other Japanese people, most official Japanese documents require Japanese to write their names in both {{translit|ja|kana}} and kanji.<ref name="How do Japanese names work"/>

Chinese place names and [[Chinese personal name]]s appearing in Japanese texts, if spelled in kanji, are almost invariably read with {{translit|ja|on'yomi}}. Especially for older and well-known names, the resulting Japanese pronunciation may differ widely from that used by modern Chinese speakers. For example, [[Mao Zedong]]'s name is pronounced as {{nihongo||毛沢東|Mō Takutō}} in Japanese, and the name of the legendary Monkey King, [[Sun Wukong]], is pronounced {{translit|ja|[[Son Goku (Journey to the West)|Son Gokū]]}} ({{Nihongo2|孫悟空}}) in Japanese.

Today, Chinese names that are not well known in Japan are often spelled in {{translit|ja|[[katakana]]}} instead, in a form much more closely approximating the native Chinese pronunciation. Alternatively, they may be written in kanji with {{translit|ja|katakana}} {{translit|ja|furigana}}. Many such cities have names that come from non-[[Chinese language]]s like [[Mongolian language|Mongolian]] or [[Manchu language|Manchu]]. Examples of such not-well-known Chinese names include:
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English name
! colspan="3" |Japanese name
|-
!{{translit|ja|Rōmaji}}
!{{translit|ja|Katakana}}
!Kanji
|-
|Harbin
|{{translit|ja|Harubin}}
|{{lang|ja|ハルビン}}
|{{Nihongo2|哈爾浜}}
|-
|Ürümqi
|{{translit|ja|Urumuchi}}
|{{lang|ja|ウルムチ}}
|{{Nihongo2|烏魯木斉}}
|-
|Qiqihar
|{{translit|ja|Chichiharu}}
|{{lang|ja|チチハル}}
|{{Nihongo2|斉斉哈爾}}
|-
|Lhasa
|{{translit|ja|Rasa}}
|{{lang|ja|ラサ}}
|{{Nihongo2|拉薩}}
|}
Internationally renowned Chinese-named cities tend to imitate the older English pronunciations of their names, regardless of the kanji's {{translit|ja|on'yomi}} or the Mandarin or Cantonese pronunciation, and can be written in either {{translit|ja|katakana}} or kanji. Examples include:
{| class="wikitable"
! rowspan="2" |English name
! rowspan="2" |Mandarin name ([[pinyin]])
! rowspan="2" |Shanghainese name ([[Romanization of Wu Chinese|Wugniu]])
! rowspan="2" |Hokkien name ([[Tâi-uân Lô-má-jī Phing-im Hong-àn|Tâi-lô]])
! rowspan="2" |Cantonese name ([[Yale romanization of Cantonese|Yale]])
! colspan="3" |Japanese name
|-
!Kanji
!{{translit|ja|Katakana}}
!{{translit|ja|Rōmaji}}
|-
|Hong Kong
|{{translit|cmn|Xiānggǎng}}
|{{translit|wuu|shian-kaon}}
|{{translit|nan|Hiong-káng}} / {{translit|nan|Hiang-káng}}
|{{translit|yue|Hēung Góng}}
|{{Nihongo2|香港}}
|{{lang|ja|ホンコン}}
|{{translit|ja|Honkon}}
|-
|Macao/Macau
|{{translit|cmn|Àomén}}
|{{translit|wuu|au-men}}
|{{translit|nan|Ò-mn̂g}} / {{translit|nan|Ò-muî}} / {{translit|nan|Ò-bûn}}
|{{translit|yue|Ou Mún}} / {{translit|yue|Ou Mùhn}}
|{{Nihongo2|澳門}}
|{{lang|ja|マカオ}}
|{{translit|ja|Makao}}
|-
|Shanghai
|{{translit|cmn|Shànghǎi}}
|{{translit|wuu|zaon-he}}
|{{translit|nan|Siōng-hái}} / {{translit|nan|Siǒng-hái}} / {{translit|nan|Siāng-hái}}
|{{translit|yue|Seuhng Hói}}
|{{Nihongo2|上海}} 
|{{lang|ja|シャンハイ}}
|{{translit|ja|Shanhai}}
|-
|Beijing/Peking
|{{translit|cmn|Běijīng}}
|{{translit|wuu|poq-cin}}
|{{translit|nan|Pak-kiann}}
|{{translit|yue|Bāk Gīng}}
|{{Nihongo2|北京}}
|{{lang|ja|ペキン}}
|{{translit|ja|Pekin}}
|-
|Nanjing/Nanking
|{{translit|cmn|Nánjīng}}
|{{translit|wuu|noe-cin}}
|{{translit|nan|Lâm-kiann}}
|{{translit|yue|Nàahm Gīng}}
|{{Nihongo2|南京}}
|{{lang|ja|ナンキン}}
|{{translit|ja|Nankin}}
|-
|Taipei
|{{translit|cmn|Táiběi}}
|{{translit|wuu|de-poq}}
|{{translit|nan|Tâi-pak}}
|{{translit|yue|Tòih Bāk}}
|{{Nihongo2|台北}}
|{{lang|ja|タイペイ}} / {{lang|ja|タイホク}}
|{{translit|ja|Taipei}} / {{translit|ja|Taihoku}}
|-
|Kaohsiung
|{{translit|cmn|Gāoxióng}} / {{translit|cmn|Dǎgǒu}}
|{{translit|wuu|kau-yon}} / {{translit|wuu|tan-keu}}
|{{translit|nan|Ko-hiông}} / {{translit|nan|Tá-káu}} / {{translit|nan|Tánn-káu}}
|{{translit|yue|Gōu Hùhng}} / {{translit|yue|Dá Gáu}}
|{{Nihongo2|高雄}} / {{Nihongo2|打狗}}
|{{lang|ja|カオシュン}} / {{lang|ja|タカオ}}
|{{translit|ja|Kaoshun}} / {{translit|ja|Takao}}
|}

Notes: 
*Guangzhou, the city, is pronounced {{translit|ja|Kōshū}}, while Guangdong, its province, is pronounced {{translit|ja|Kanton}}, not {{translit|ja|*Kōtō}} (in this case, opting for a {{translit|ja|tō-on}} reading rather than the usual {{translit|ja|kan-on}} reading).
* Hangzhou (expected {{translit|ja|Kōshū}}) is often pronounced {{translit|ja|Kuishū}} to disambiguate with Guangzhou.
*Kaohsiung was originally pronounced {{translit|ja|Takao}} (or similar) in [[Taiwanese Hokkien|Hokkien]] and Japanese. It received this written [[Kaohsiung#Etymology and names|name]] (kanji/Chinese) from Japanese, and later its spoken Mandarin name from the corresponding characters. The English name "Kaohsiung" derived from its Mandarin pronunciation. Today it is pronounced either {{lang|ja|カオシュン}} or {{lang|ja|タカオ}} in Japanese.
*Taipei is generally pronounced {{lang|ja|たいほく}} in Japanese.

In some cases the same kanji can appear in a given word with different readings. Normally this occurs when a character is duplicated and the reading of the second character has voicing ({{translit|ja|[[rendaku]]}}), as in {{lang|ja|人人}} {{translit|ja|hito-bito}} "people" (more often written with the [[iteration mark]] as {{Nihongo2|人々}}), but in rare cases the readings can be unrelated, as in {{nihongo||跳び跳ねる|tobi-haneru|"hop around", more often written {{lang|ja|飛び跳ねる}}}}.