Konichiwa.
ごめンなさい、if this seems like too long a request, but I am genuinely concerned
and want to make SURE I am not being offensive in any way, while learning
this beautiful language, and I plan travel to Japan in future and am learning
to write in Nihongo as well.
I am fearful that I may have done something impolite in my posts.
(Not here on JapanesePod101, but on my blog.)
I have been learning about politeness and I fully understand it's importance.
(ex. better not to add an honorific after ones own name, it can seem arrogant.)
I went to a site that translated my surname, and found some Kanji but I also read somewhere
that I can use phonetics to spell my name as on a drivers' license etc.
My last name is McKee, and at first I thought MAKI マキwould be good, but it sounds to my ear
(and my family pronounces it so it sounds) more closely to MEKI.メキ
to make things worse I have at times used Hiragana to spell it
which now seems wrong as I have since learned that Hiragana is for Japanese
words and foreign words should use Katakana,
Long story; I found the Kanji for "me" 目and for "ki" 気 and liked the sound of "eye-spirit" as a name
(and I can more easily write the kanji) so I have been
using 目気 and identifying myself on my blog posts as "EyeSpritGuy".
Is this a really bad idea, partially bad, wrong, confusing or rude in any way?
I would like to use my last name first as I have seen done, but is this arrogant?
In short, does 目気 have any negative aspect or is it better to always write it in Katakana?
Then still have to worry about my first name, which I'll do later...
Please help. To confuse things even more. Gomenasai, but the literal translation of McKee is "Clan of Fire" can I do something with this phrase (or should I) with this phrasing. Sorry to be so wordy, but I really don't want to make dumb mistakes, -and after all it's my family name. Suggestions? i'll try hard not to be a 'problem student' after this