Language/Japanese/Pronunciation/Alphabet-and-Pronunciation

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

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

五十音 (gojūon)

[nː]; [mː]; [ŋː]; [ɴː]	n	ん ン	[ɰᵝa̠]	wa	わ ワ	[ɾa̠]	ra	ら ラ	[ja̠]	ya	や ヤ	[ma̠]	ma	ま マ	[ha̠]; [ɰᵝa̠]	ha	は ハ	[na̠]	na	な ナ	[ta̠]	ta	た タ	[sa̠]	sa	さ サ	[ka̠]	ka	か カ	[a̠]	a	あ ア
			[ɰᵝi], [i]	i/i/wi	ゐ ヰ	[ɾʲi]	ri	り リ				[mʲi]	mi	み ミ	[çi]	hi	ひ ヒ	[ɲ̟i]	ni	に 二	[t͡ɕi]	chi/ti/ti	ち チ	[ɕi]	shi/si/si	し シ	[kʲi]	ki	き キ	[i]	i	い イ
						[ɾɯ̟ᵝ]	ru	る ル	[jɯ̟ᵝ]	yu	ゆ ユ	[mɯ̟ᵝ]	mu	む ム	[ɸɯ̟ᵝ]	fu/hu/hu	ふ フ	[nɯ̟ᵝ]	nu	ぬ ヌ	[t͡sɨᵝ]	tsu/tu/tu	つ ツ	[sɨᵝ]	su	す ス	[kɯ̟ᵝ]	ku	く ク	[ɯ̟ᵝ]	u	う ウ
			[ɰᵝe̞], [e̞]	e/e/we	ゑ ヱ	[ɾe̞]	re	れ レ				[me̞]	me	め メ	[he̞]; [e̞]	he	へ へ	[ne̞]	ne	ね ネ	[te̞]	te	て テ	[se̞]	se	せ セ	[ke̞]	ke	け ケ	[e̞]	e	え エ
			[ɰᵝo̞], [o̞]	o/o/wo	を ヲ	[ɾo̞]	ro	ろ ロ	[jo̞]	yo	よ ヨ	[mo̞]	mo	も モ	[ho̞]	ho	ほ ホ	[no̞]	no	の ノ	[to̞]	to	と ト	[so̞]	so	そ ソ	[ko̞]	ko	こ コ	[o̞]	o	お オ

dakuon and handakuon

濁音と半濁音 (dakuon and handakuon)

[pa̠]	pa	ぱ パ	[ba̠]	ba	ば バ	[da̠]	da	だ ダ	[d͡za̠]	za	ざ ザ	[ɡa̠], [ŋa̠]	ga	が ガ
[pʲi]	pi	ぴ ピ	[bʲi]	bi	び ビ	[d͡ʑi], [ʑi]	ji/zi/di	ぢ ヂ	[d͡ʑi], [ʑi]	ji/zi/zi	じ ジ	[ɡʲi], [ŋʲi]	gi	ぎ ギ
[pɯ̟ᵝ]	pu	ぷ プ	[bɯ̟ᵝ]	bu	ぶ ブ	[d͡zɯᵝ], [zɯᵝ]	zu/zu/du	づ ヅ	[d͡zɯᵝ], [zɯᵝ]	zu	ず ズ	[ɡɯ̟ᵝ], [ŋɯ̟ᵝ]	gu	ぐ グ
[pe̞]	pe	ぺ ペ	[be̞]	be	べ ベ	[de̞]	de	で デ	[d͡ze̞]	ze	ぜ ゼ	[ɡe̞], [ŋe̞]	ge	げ ゲ
[po̞]	po	ぽ ポ	[bo̞]	bo	ぼ ボ	[do̞]	do	ど ド	[d͡zo̞]	zo	ぞ ゾ	[ɡo̞], [ŋo̞]	go	ご ゴ

yōon

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

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

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.

Authors

briceJ

Other Lessons

• Extended table of the kanji keys

Other Lessons

• Extended table of the kanji keys