Mai (まい)

Mai is read まい and has 2 beats. Our data lists 4 spellings: 舞, 真愛, 真依 and 真惟. All four are feminine. Some of them are on our hand-reviewed list of everyday names.

Reading

ま·い (2 beats)

Kanji spellings

4 in our data

Gender

Feminine

Source

Hand-reviewed list of everyday names and JMnedict, the open name dictionary

Kanji spellings of Mai

One sound can be written with different kanji. Each spelling below is a different name on paper.

  • 舞
    まい
    CommonFeminine

    Dance

  • 真愛
    まい
    Feminine

    True + love

    • 真— true
    • 愛— love
  • 真依
    まい
    Feminine

    True

    • 真(ま)— true
    • 依(い)— chosen for sound
  • 真惟
    まい
    Feminine

    True + ponder

    • 真(ま)— true
    • 惟(い)— ponder

The kanji in Mai

What each kanji means on its own, and in how many of the spellings above it appears.

  • 真true3 spellings
  • 舞dance1 spelling
  • 愛love1 spelling
  • 依chosen for sound1 spelling
  • 惟ponder1 spelling

Mai with common surnames

Full names with a different spelling and surname on each card. Tap a card for the kanji breakdown.

Mai on our lists

Topic pages that include a spelling of this name.

Geisha Names3 Letter Japanese NamesShort Japanese Girl NamesJapanese Anime NamesUnique Anime Girl NamesJapanese Names in Katakana

Questions about Mai

Is Mai a boy's or a girl's name?

In our data every spelling of Mai is feminine.

What does Mai mean?

Mai is a sound, so the meaning comes from the kanji: 舞 reads as "dance", 真愛 reads as "true + love" and 真依 reads as "true". Those come from what each kanji means by itself, and parents may have had a fuller picture in mind.

How many ways can Mai be written in kanji?

Our data lists 4: 舞, 真愛, 真依 and 真惟. Other spellings exist, so ask how a person writes their own name before you write it for them.

How do you pronounce Mai?

まい is 2 beats: ま · い. Give every beat the same length and keep vowels short and clear; Japanese has no stressed syllable the way English does.

Where this comes from

The spellings are from our hand-reviewed list of everyday names and from JMnedict, the open Japanese name dictionary. Meanings are built from what each kanji means on its own, so they describe the characters, not what a particular family had in mind.

How we check names · Content last reviewed: 2026-11-08.

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