Willi in Japanese

Willi is written ビリ in katakana. Katakana is the script Japanese people use for foreign names, so this is how Willi would appear on a Japanese ID card, a café cup or a name tag. Depending on the origin of the name, it can also be written ビリィ (as written in Japan) and ウィリー (English).

Our top pick is 美里 (Biri). 美 means “beauty” and 里 means “hometown”. Other good options are 美莉 (Biri) and 美理 (Biri).

Partly. The characters 美里 appear in Japanese names, but with the reading Misato and Minori rather than Biri. As a spelling of Willi, it is a creative kanji choice (ateji): Japanese readers will see the meaning of each character.

美里 has 16 strokes in total (美: 9, 里: 7). It takes some practice to write neatly, so look up the stroke order before trying it with a brush.

Each character in 美里 has a positive meaning, so it is a reasonable choice. Keep in mind that Japanese people will read it as the meaning of the characters, not instantly as “Willi”. If you want your name to be recognized, katakana (ビリ) is clearer. Either way, ask a native speaker to check the final design.