夜神月
Yagami Raito
Light Yagami is the name of the main character in the manga and anime series Death Note, expressed in Japanese as 夜神月 (Yagami Raito).
What does it mean word for word?
The kanji for the name consist of the elements 夜 (night), 神 (god) and 月 (moon).
How does it change in a sentence?
In Japanese, the surname 夜神 (Yagami) precedes the given name 月 (Raito).
How do you pronounce it?
Yagami Raito
Did you know?
- In Japanese, the name 夜神月 uses a technique called 'ateji', where kanji are chosen for their meaning and sound rather than their standard dictionary readings. While the kanji 月 usually means 'moon' and is read as 'tsuki', the author specifically assigned the reading 'Raito' to it.
- The surname 夜神 (Yagami) is exceptionally rare in Japan, making the name sound intentionally 'otherworldly' or 'unnatural' to a native speaker's ears.
- In Japanese, names can have nanori readings, which are special pronunciations used only for people's names. The reading of 月 as 'Raito' pushes this linguistic flexibility to a fictional extreme.
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their favorite anime characters.
- 結衣 Yui一番好きなキャラクターは誰ですか？Ichiban suki na kyarakutā wa dare desu ka?Who is your favorite character?
- 蓮 Ren私は夜神月が一番好きです。Watashi wa Yagami Ruki ga ichiban suki desu.I like Light Yagami the most.
- 結衣 Yui意外ですね。彼は恐ろしい人ですよ。Igai desu ne. Kare wa osoroshii hito desu yo.That's surprising. He is a scary person.
- 蓮 Renでも、物語の中では魅力的な人物です。Demo, monogatari no naka de wa miryokuteki na jinbutsu desu.But he is a fascinating character in the story.
