Love Doraemon? Here are Japanese names of characters from Doraemon. Check it out!
Dive deeper into the world of Doraemon! Explore the characters' unique Japanese names and their hidden meanings. From Nobita's down-to-earth name to Shizuka's gentle connotation, discover the hidden messages within their monikers!
In 2008, Doraemon was appointed as Japan's first "anime ambassador.” He is also the special ambassador of the Tokyo Olympics. pic.twitter.com/H6JNMKsulZ
— Manya Koetse (@manyapan) March 18, 2021
Japanese Names of Characters From Doraemon
Doraemon (ドラえもん, Doraemon)
Doraemon is the titular and main character of the series. He is a cat robot who has travelled back in time to help Nobita. He was sent by Nobita’s great - great - grandson, Sewashi.
Doraemon was initially yellow in colour and had ears but a mouse robot bit them off. This caused him so much grief that he eventually turned blue in colour.
His most prominent characteristic is his four - dimensional pocket. He uses it to hold his tools and gadgets that he got from a department store in the future.
Doraemon is a very friendly and smart individual. However, he tends to panic and becomes frantic in unfavorable situations.
He is extremely afraid of mice after the incident where his ears were bitten off and tends to pull out dangerous weapons when he comes across them.
He has a younger sister named Dorami. It is also shown that he has a girlfriend. When he travels back in time, he lives with Nobita’s family as one of the family member.
He has the basic needs of a person such as food. He loves eating Dorayaki and sleeps in the closet in Nobita’s room.
Nobita Nobi (野比 のび太, Nobi Nobita)
Nobita Nobi is the other protagonist of the series. Unlike other protagonists, he is lazy, uncoordinated and ordinary.
He is bad at sports and regularly scores zeroes on his tests. He is often bullied by his friend Gian and his sidekick, Suneo.
His best friend is Shizuka who later becomes his girlfriend and later wife.
Nobita is almost a “loser”, if I may say so. He is generally shown as being a coward, but there are instances when he has saved others by putting himself in danger.
In the series, Doraemon acts as his caretaker. Many times, he uses gadgets and tools from Doraemon’s pocket to get out of tricky and difficult situations. But of course, he ends up misusing them most of the time.
Shizuka Minamoto (源 静香, Minamoto Shizuka)
Shizuka Minamoto is a young and pretty girl who is best friends with Nobita in the series. She is kind and cares for Nobita. She is not put off by his failing grades or laziness. She doesn’t give up on him and instead is often seen encouraging him to do better.
She is also seen taking baths frequently in the series and is often interrupted by Nobita walking in through the Doko Demo Dao or Anywhere Door.
Her skirt is constantly getting flipped, either by the wind or by one of Doraemon's gadgets. The scenes where she is seen bathing or her underwear is seen were thought of as inappropriate and removed from the versions made available in India, the USA, the UK, and Europe.
Shizuka loves sweet potatoes and doesn’t share them. She also loves to play the violin but isn’t very good at it. She unwillingly takes piano lessons to fulfill her mother’s wishes and is actually quite good at it.
She also loves animals and has a pet dog and a pet canary.
Takeshi Gouda (剛田 武, Gōda Takeshi) or Gian (ジャイアン, Jaian)
Takeshi Gouda is better known as Gian in the series. He is friends with Nobita, Shizuka, and Suneo.
He is portrayed as the local bully in the series and is often seen threatening and taking other children’s belongings. His catchphrase in the series is, 「俺の物は、俺の物。お前の物も俺の物。」, "Ore no mono wa, ore no mono. Omae no mono mo ore no mono." This translates to “What is mine is mine, What is yours is also mine.
But besides this, Gian also has a softer side. He cares deeply for his friends and is always ready to help them. He is also shown as being prone to crying when people describe him as intimidating and a bully.
Gian has a younger sister, Jaiko, of whom he is very protective. He is constantly looking out for her even in situations that she can handle.
Suneo Honekawa (骨川スネ夫, Honekawa Suneo)
Suneo Honekawa is a rich boy who loves to show off, especially in front of Nobita. He is often seen flaunting his new and expensive toys and games to make Nobita jealous.
Even though he is one of Nobita’s closest friends, he often excludes him from things and usually invites only Shizuka and Gian to his resorts and parties. He also joins Gian in bullying Nobita.
He is somewhat of a coward and is seen almost always shying away and turning down opportunities to go on adventures with Doraemon and Nobita.
He is smart and possesses a lot of scientific knowledge. He is also a gifted artist and designer.
Dorami (ドラミ, Dorami)
Dorami is Doraemon’s little sister. She was made with half a can of the same oil as Doraemon and so are considered to be siblings.
She is yellow like Doraemon was before his incident with the robot mouse. To avoid triggering Doraemon about his ears, she wears a large red bow over her ears.
She lives with Sewashi in the 22nd century but visits Nobita with the help of a time machine now and then when Doraemon is away for his yearly health check - up or is off duty.
She is a much more competent robot than Doraemon and is able to produce 10,000 horsepower as compared to Doraemon’s 129.3. She also is better at using gadgets than him.
At one point, Nobita is bent upon replacing Doraemon with Dorami because of her superior skills. But he soon realizes that Dorami doesn’t get him like Doraemon does and changes his mind.
Jaiko Goda (ジャイ子, Jaiko)
Jaiko Goda is Gian’s younger sister. Initially, she was supposed to be the future wife of Nobita. However, Doraemon intervenes just in time and Nobita marries Shizuka in the future.
At the start of the series, Jaiko has a bad temper and is easily angered when things don’t go as she pleases. But as the series progresses, her temper begins to come under control.
She is a budding manga artist and sometimes uses the pen name Christine Goda (クリスチーネ 剛田, Kurisuchīne Gōda). Under this pseudonym, she submits her work to publishing companies in the hope of winning prizes. However, her poor storytelling skills cause her to fail.
Gian often requests and even threatens his friends to praise and encourage her when she thinks of giving up on her manga dream.
Other characters from Doraemon and their Japanese names:
- Sewashi Nobi (野比セワシ, Nobi Sewashi)
- Tamako Nobi (野比玉子, Nobi Tamako) also known as Tamako Kataoka (片岡玉子)
- Nobisuke Nobi (野比 のび助, Nobi Nobisuke)
- Nobirou Nobi (野比 のび郎, Nobi Nobirō)
- Nobie Nobi (野比 のび恵, Nobi Nobie)
- Tamao Kataoka (片岡 玉夫, Kataoka Tamao)
- Nobiru Nobi (野比 のびる, Nobi Nobiru)
- Hidetoshi Dekisugi (出木杉 英才, Dekisugi Hidetoshi)
- Yoshio Minamoto (源 義雄, Minamoto Yoshio)
- Peeko (ピー子, Pīko)
- Sunetsugu Honekawa (骨川 スネツグ, Honekawa Sunetsugu)
- Sunekichi Honekawa (スネ吉)
- Chiruchiru (チルチル, Chiruchiru)
- Muku (ムク, Muku)
- Moteo Mote (茂手 もて夫, Mote Moteo)
- Teacher (先生, Sensei, Teacher)
- Mr. Kaminari (神成, Kaminari)
- Mii-chan (ミイちゃん, Mii-chan)
- Tsubasa Ito (伊藤翼, Ito Tsubasa)
- Gachako (ガチャ子, Gachako)
- Botako (ボタ子, Botako)
- Jamako (ジャマ子, Jamako)
- Debuko (デブ子, Debuko)
In which country is Doraemon most popular?
Doraemon is popular across the world. However, in Japan and other Asian countries, the titular character and the series have a legion of loyal fans. The character even earned the title of the country’s first anime ambassador in Japan.
