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[Facts] Moka and Hayate
So, I heard that Moka is a Japanese name that means "fragrant sprout"? I know it could have multiple meanings depending on the characters used, but is that any of the potential translations?
And secondly, is it used as an actual name at all...? I know there is a character in an anime named Moka, but that doesn't mean anything. I know Hayate is Japanese, but like Moka - is it used as an actual name at all?
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If you google both names with common Japanese surnames, you get results for actual people, so yes, they're both in use, although Moeka (moh eh ka) for 萌香 seems much more common than Moka, and Hayato is more common than Hayate.
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Thanks!Alright, thankyou so much! c:
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Yes, Moka is fairly common, and 萌香 "fragrant sprout" are possible kanji. The intuitive reading of 萌香 is Moeka, but intuition doesn't take you far with Japanese names.
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Thankyou! In case you see this, though, can you be a little specific about the "intuition doesn't take you far with Japanese names"? It's not needed for the name, but I'm curious about what you mean about that. Do you mean that, since they can have so many different pronunciations, that intuition isn't always the most accurate?
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Yes, exactly. There are common kanji readings for names, and rare readings, and readings that seem to have been made up on the spot by the parents. People naturally guess the common ones first, but they are often wrong. For instance there is a girl's name written 幸子 that was very common in the mid-20th century. A usual reading for 幸 is "Sachi" so this name can be read Sachiko. However, in names only, 幸 can also be read as "Yuki." So the name is very often Yukiko instead. One can even find rare examples of 幸子 read as Toshiko, Tomoko, Keiko, Kazuko, Yuiko and Sakiko. I met a 13-year-old girl this summer whose name was written 美紗. On the surface this is nothing other than the common name Misa. However, in her case it was pronounced Misuzu. There would be no way to know that, without being told.

This message was edited 10/25/2014, 10:02 AM

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萌香 ||mang4| |MENG2 MING2|MAYNG|manh|HOU BOU|MEBAE KIZASU MOERU bud, sprout
*xiɑng||hoeng1|xiang1|XIANG1 |HYANG|hương|KOU KYOU|KAORI KA fragrant, sweet smelling, incense(Another of those knowlege-free scholarships :-)
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