Ateji
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Ateji (当て字), meaning 'given characters' or 'assigned characters', are kanji that have been arbitrarily "assigned" to write a borrowed or native Japanese word with which they have no historical or etymological connection. Often the characters will be chosen with the intent of implying an etymology which is fanciful or false. Ateji are also chosen to render non-Chinese proper names, including Western names, with the intent of lending the name a flattering appearance in kanji.
Ateji have sometimes been used to write loanwords in Japanese. Although the usual modern method of writing such loanwords is katakana, in the past it was considered necessary to have kanji versions of words. For example, many Japanese words of Portuguese origin have kanji versions, all of which are ateji.
One example is the ateji for kappa, from Portuguese 'capa', which is a kind of raincoat. The characters chosen were 合羽, meaning 'wings coming together', both because the pointed kappa resembled a bird with wings folded together and because the two characters could be read kappa.
Another example of kanji being used for both their meaning and pronunciation is kurabu 'club', a loanword from English. It is sometimes written 倶楽部 because (1) the kanji can be read in sequence as ku, ra(ku), and bu, and (2) can be interpreted loosely in sequence as 'together', 'fun', 'place'.
Ateji can also be used solely for their pronunciation. The characters 寿司 for writing sushi are an example of this.
See also
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