Language/Japanese/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

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Welcome to our lesson on Japanese Pronunciation → Alphabet and Pronunciation! In this lesson, we will explore the fascinating world of the Japanese language, which uses three unique writing systems to express sounds: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. These systems consist of simple symbols derived from Chinese characters, known as "Hiragana" and "Katakana," as well as the more complex Chinese characters called "Kanji."

As you dive deeper into your Japanese language journey, you might also be interested in expanding your Japanese Vocabulary - Longest word or exploring the rich world of Japanese Vocabulary - Arts and Media - Art and Literature. These resources will help you further develop your understanding and appreciation of the Japanese language and culture. So, let's get started on mastering the Japanese pronunciation and alphabet! 🇯🇵🗾🎌

Kana[edit | edit source]

Hiragana is used for common use. Katakana is used for onomatopoeia, emphasizing, foreign names and words.

There are 3 major types of romanization: Hepburn, Kunrei-shiki, Nihon-shiki.

In these charts, the order is top-to-bottom, right-to-left, which is the traditional one and is still in use. Hiragana are at upper position, Katakana are at lower position. 3 romanization systems are in the order above, separated by a slash.

gojūon[edit | edit source]

五十音 (gojūon)
[nː]; [mː]; [ŋː]; [ɴː] n

[ɰᵝa̠] wa

[ɾa̠] ra

[ja̠] ya

[ma̠] ma

[ha̠]; [ɰᵝa̠] ha

[na̠] na

[ta̠] ta

[sa̠] sa

[ka̠] ka

[a̠] a

[ɰᵝi], [i] i/i/wi

[ɾʲi] ri

[mʲi] mi

[çi] hi

[ɲ̟i] ni

[t͡ɕi] chi/ti/ti

[ɕi] shi/si/si

[kʲi] ki

[i] i

[ɾɯ̟ᵝ] ru

[jɯ̟ᵝ] yu

[mɯ̟ᵝ] mu

[ɸɯ̟ᵝ] fu/hu/hu

[nɯ̟ᵝ] nu

[t͡sɨᵝ] tsu/tu/tu

[sɨᵝ] su

[kɯ̟ᵝ] ku

[ɯ̟ᵝ] u

[ɰᵝe̞], [e̞] e/e/we

[ɾe̞] re

[me̞] me

[he̞]; [e̞] he

[ne̞] ne

[te̞] te

[se̞] se

[ke̞] ke

[e̞] e

[ɰᵝo̞], [o̞] o/o/wo

[ɾo̞] ro

[jo̞] yo

[mo̞] mo

[ho̞] ho

[no̞] no

[to̞] to

[so̞] so

[ko̞] ko

[o̞] o

dakuon and handakuon[edit | edit source]

濁音と半濁音 (dakuon and handakuon)
[pa̠] pa

[ba̠] ba

[da̠] da

[d͡za̠] za

[ɡa̠], [ŋa̠] ga

[pʲi] pi

[bʲi] bi

[d͡ʑi], [ʑi] ji/zi/di

[d͡ʑi], [ʑi] ji/zi/zi

[ɡʲi], [ŋʲi] gi

[pɯ̟ᵝ] pu

[bɯ̟ᵝ] bu

[d͡zɯᵝ], [zɯᵝ] zu/zu/du

[d͡zɯᵝ], [zɯᵝ] zu

[ɡɯ̟ᵝ], [ŋɯ̟ᵝ] gu

[pe̞] pe

[be̞] be

[de̞] de

[d͡ze̞] ze

[ɡe̞], [ŋe̞] ge

[po̞] po

[bo̞] bo

[do̞] do

[d͡zo̞] zo

[ɡo̞], [ŋo̞] go

yōon[edit | edit source]

拗音 (yōon)
[pʲa̠] pya ぴゃ

ピャ

[bʲa̠] bya びゃ

ビャ

[d͡ʑa̠] ja/zya/zya じゃ

ジャ

[ɡʲa̠] gya ぎゃ

ギャ

[ɾʲa̠] rya りゃ

リャ

[mʲa̠] mya みゃ

ミャ

[ça̠] hya ひゃ

ヒャ

[ɲ̟a̠] nya にゃ

ニャ

[t͡ɕa̠] cha/tya/tya ちゃ

チャ

[ɕa̠] sha/sya/sya しゃ

シャ

[kʲa̠] kya きゃ

キャ

[pʲɨᵝ] pyu ぴゅ

ピュ

[bʲɨᵝ] byu びゅ

ビュ

[d͡ʑɨᵝ] ju/zyu/zyu じゅ

ジュ

[ɡʲɨᵝ] gyu ぎゅ

ギュ

[ɾʲɨᵝ] ryu りゅ

リュ

[mʲɨᵝ] myu みゅ

ミュ

[çɨᵝ] hyu ひゅ

ヒュ

[ɲ̟ɯ̟ᵝ] nyu にゅ

ニュ

[t͡ɕɨᵝ] chu/tyu/tyu ちゅ

チュ

[ɕɨᵝ] shu/syu/syu しゅ

シュ

[kʲɨᵝ] kyu きゅ

キュ

[pʲo̞] pyo ぴょ

ピョ

[bʲo̞] byo びょ

ビョ

[d͡ʑo̞] jo/zyo/zyo じょ

ジョ

[ɡʲo̞] gyo ぎょ

ギョ

[ɾʲo̞] ryo りょ

リョ

[mʲo̞] myo みょ

ミョ

[ço̞] hyo ひょ

ヒョ

[ɲ̟o̞] nyo にょ

ニョ

[t͡ɕo̞] cho/tyo/tyo ちょ

チョ

[ɕo̞] sho/syo/syo しょ

ショ

[kʲo̞] kyo きょ

キョ

Notes[edit | edit source]

ゐ/ヰ and ゑ/ヱ are rarely used in modern Japanese. As you can see, for "w" sound, there are only a and o.


Concerning the "y" section, there are only a, u and o.


Also, to form some sounds like z, p or b we have to use some additional symbols to complete basic ones.


は/ハ is pronounced as [ɰᵝa̠], へ/へ is pronounced as [e̞].


ん/ン's pronunciation rules are at https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E3%82%93#Pronunciation


゛(dakuten) makes k become g, s become z, t become d, h become b (dakuon).

゜(handakuten) makes h become p (handakuhon).


っ/ッ indicates a geminate consonant.


ー means long vowel in katakana.


There is a small difficulty in katakana symbols table due to the very similar looking of some ː ノ、ソ、ン、シ、ツ...+ゾ、ジ、ヅ。


Extended katakana are not introduced here.

Kanji[edit | edit source]

Kanji makes homonyms to be understood more precisely. For example, “かみ” can mean god, paper or hair. With kanji 神, 紙 or 髪, one can express the proper meaning.

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