Dakuten and handakuten, contracted sounds like きゃ, the small っ, long vowels and ん: the sounds the basic table gains. A small っ doubles the next consonant, and a small ゃ joins the kana before it: きって kitte, きゃく kyaku
Summary
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
| Point | Rule | Example | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dakuten | ゛ voices the K, S, T and H rows | が / ざ / だ / ば ga, za, da, ba | |
| Handakuten | ゜ turns the H row into the P sounds | ぱ / ぴ / ぷ / ぺ / ぽ pa, pi, pu, pe, po | |
| Contracted | a kana of the I column plus a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ is one sound | きゃ / きゅ / きょ kya, kyu, kyo | |
| Small っ | っ doubles the next consonant | きって kitte | |
| Long vowels | a vowel kana follows: ああ, いい, うう, えい, おう | おかあさん okāsan | |
| ん | ん is one mora, written n; before a vowel or や, n' | こんや kon'ya | |
| Trap | small ゃ makes きゃ one sound; full-size や makes きや two | きゃく kyaku / きやき kiyaki | |
| Trap | short and long vowels make different words | おばさん obasan / おばあさん obāsan |
Dakuten: voiced sounds
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
- The mark ゛, the だくてん, stands at the top right of a kana of the K, S, T or H row and voices its consonant. か → が ka → ga / さ → ざ sa → za / た → だ ta → da / は → ば ha → ba
| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| が | ga /ɡa/ | がくせい gakusei /ɡakɯsei/ | student | |
| ぎ | gi /ɡi/ | みぎ migi /miɡi/ | right (side) | |
| ぐ | gu /ɡɯ/ | すぐ sugu /sɯɡɯ/ | soon, right away | |
| げ | ge /ɡe/ | げんき genki /ɡeɴki/ | well, healthy | |
| ご | go /ɡo/ | ごはん gohan /ɡohaɴ/ | cooked rice, meal | |
| ざ | za /dza/ | ざんねん zannen /dzaɴneɴ/ | too bad | |
| じ | ji /dʑi/ | じかん jikan /dʑikaɴ/ | time | |
| ず | zu /dzɯ/ | みず mizu /mizɯ/ | water | |
| ぜ | ze /dze/ | かぜ kaze /kaze/ | wind, a cold | |
| ぞ | zo /dzo/ | かぞく kazoku /kazokɯ/ | family | |
| だ | da /da/ | ともだち tomodachi /tomodatɕi/ | friend | |
| で | de /de/ | でんわ denwa /deɴwa/ | telephone | |
| ど | do /do/ | どこ doko /doko/ | where | |
| ば | ba /ba/ | かばん kaban /kabaɴ/ | bag | |
| び | bi /bi/ | くび kubi /kɯbi/ | neck | |
| ぶ | bu /bɯ/ | ぶた buta /bɯta/ | pig | |
| べ | be /be/ | たべる taberu /tabeɾɯ/ | to eat | |
| ぼ | bo /bo/ | ぼく boku /bokɯ/ | I (said by a boy or a man) |
- ぢ and づ sound like じ and ず and appear in a few words. つづく tsuzuku /tsɯzɯkɯ/ · はなぢ hanaji /hanadʑi/to continue / nosebleed
Handakuten: the P sounds
Nothing in this section is at or below. It starts at A0.
- The mark ゜, the はんだくてん, on a kana of the H row gives the P sound. は → ぱ ha → pa / ひ → ぴ hi → pi
| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ぱ | pa /pa/ | ぱん pan /paɴ/ | bread | |
| ぴ | pi /pi/ | えんぴつ enpitsu /eɴpitsɯ/ | pencil | |
| ぷ | pu /pɯ/ | ぷりん purin /pɯɾiɴ/ | pudding | |
| ぺ | pe /pe/ | ぺん pen /peɴ/ | pen | |
| ぽ | po /po/ | さんぽ sanpo /saɴpo/ | walk, stroll |
Contracted sounds
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- A small ゃ, ゅ or ょ after a kana of the I column forms one sound: き + ゃ = きゃ.
- The small kana is written smaller, low and to the right in horizontal text.
- The pair is one mora, one beat of rhythm: きゃ is kya, while きや with a full-size や is ki-ya, two morae.
| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| きゃ / きゅ / きょ | kya / kyu / kyo /kʲa/ · /kʲɯ/ · /kʲo/ | きゃく kyaku /kʲakɯ/ · きゅう kyū /kʲɯː/ · きょう kyō /kʲoː/ | guest, customer / nine / today | |
| しゃ / しゅ / しょ | sha / shu / sho /ɕa/ · /ɕɯ/ · /ɕo/ | しゃしん shashin /ɕaɕiɴ/ · しゅみ shumi /ɕɯmi/ · しょくじ shokuji /ɕokɯdʑi/ | photograph / hobby / meal | |
| ちゃ / ちゅ / ちょ | cha / chu / cho /tɕa/ · /tɕɯ/ · /tɕo/ | おちゃ ocha /otɕa/ · ちゅうごく Chūgoku /tɕɯːɡokɯ/ · ちょきん chokin /tɕokiɴ/ | tea / China / savings | |
| にゃ / にゅ / にょ | nya / nyu / nyo /ɲa/ · /ɲɯ/ · /ɲo/ | こんにゃく konnyaku /koɴɲakɯ/ | konjac | |
| ひゃ / ひゅ / ひょ | hya / hyu / hyo /ça/ · /çɯ/ · /ço/ | ひゃく hyaku /çakɯ/ · ひょう hyō /çoː/ | one hundred / table, chart | |
| みゃ / みゅ / みょ | mya / myu / myo /mʲa/ · /mʲɯ/ · /mʲo/ | みょうじ myōji /mʲoːdʑi/ | family name | |
| りゃ / りゅ / りょ | rya / ryu / ryo /ɾʲa/ · /ɾʲɯ/ · /ɾʲo/ | りゅう ryū /ɾʲɯː/ · りょこう ryokō /ɾʲokoː/ | dragon / trip | |
| ぎゃ / ぎゅ / ぎょ | gya / gyu / gyo /ɡʲa/ · /ɡʲɯ/ · /ɡʲo/ | ぎゃく gyaku /ɡʲakɯ/ · ぎゅうにゅう gyūnyū /ɡʲɯːɲɯː/ · ぎょうざ gyōza /ɡʲoːza/ | opposite / milk / dumpling (gyōza) | |
| じゃ / じゅ / じょ | ja / ju / jo /dʑa/ · /dʑɯ/ · /dʑo/ | じゃがいも jagaimo /dʑaɡaimo/ · じゅう jū /dʑɯː/ · じょうず jōzu /dʑoːzɯ/ | potato / ten / good at, skilful | |
| びゃ / びゅ / びょ | bya / byu / byo /bʲa/ · /bʲɯ/ · /bʲo/ | さんびゃく sanbyaku /saɴbʲakɯ/ · びょういん byōin /bʲoːiɴ/ | three hundred / hospital | |
| ぴゃ / ぴゅ / ぴょ | pya / pyu / pyo /pʲa/ · /pʲɯ/ · /pʲo/ | ぴょんぴょん pyonpyon /pʲoɴpʲoɴ/ | hopping |
The small っ
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- A small っ doubles the consonant that follows it: きって is kitte. きって kitte /kitːe/postage stamp
- It is a mora of its own: the mouth closes on the consonant for one mora before it opens.
- In romaji, っ writes the consonant twice, and ch becomes tch.
| Before | Romaji | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| k | kk | がっこう gakkō /ɡakːoː/ | school | |
| s, sh | ss, ssh | ざっし zasshi /zaɕːi/ | magazine | |
| t | tt | ちょっと chotto /tɕotːo/ · きって kitte /kitːe/ | a little / postage stamp | |
| ch | tch | まっちゃ matcha /matːɕa/ | matcha tea | |
| p | pp | きっぷ kippu /kipːɯ/ | ticket |
Long vowels
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- A long vowel lasts two morae: the kana of the vowel is followed by a vowel kana.
- あ, い and う repeat their vowel; え adds い, and お adds う.
- A few words write ええ and おお, such as おねえさん and おおきい.
- A short and a long vowel make different words: おばさん is “aunt”, おばあさん is “grandmother”. おばさん obasan /obasaɴ/ · おばあさん obāsan /obaːsaɴ/aunt / grandmother
- Katakana writes the long vowel with ー, see Katakana.
| Kana | Sound | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ああ | ā /aː/ | おかあさん okāsan /okaːsaɴ/ | mother | |
| いい | ī /iː/ | おにいさん onīsan /oniːsaɴ/ | older brother | |
| うう | ū /ɯː/ | くうき kūki /kɯːki/ | air | |
| ええ | ē /eː/ | おねえさん onēsan /oneːsaɴ/ | older sister | |
| えい | ei /eː/ | せんせい sensei /seɴseː/ | teacher | |
| おお | ō /oː/ | おおきい ōkii /oːkiː/ · とおい tōi /toːi/ | big / far | |
| おう | ō /oː/ | ありがとう arigatō /aɾiɡatoː/ | Thank you. |
The kana ん
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- ん is a mora of its own, never the first kana of a word. ほん hon /hoɴ/book
- Modified Hepburn writes ん as n, also before b, m and p. えんぴつ enpitsu /eɴpitsɯ/pencil
- Its sound shifts with the next consonant, see Pronunciation.
| Position | Romaji | Example | English | Level |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| End of a word | n | ほん hon /hoɴ/ · しんぶん shinbun /ɕiɴbɯɴ/ | book / newspaper | |
| Before a consonant | n | おんな onna /oɴna/ · えんぴつ enpitsu /eɴpitsɯ/ | woman / pencil | |
| Before a vowel or y | n' | こんや kon'ya /koɴja/ · ほんや hon'ya /hoɴja/ | tonight / bookshop |
Typical errors
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| Wrong | Right | Rule | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| ともたち | ともだち tomodachi | ゛ changes t to d; without it the word is another one | |
| きやく | きゃく kyaku | a full-size や adds a mora; the small ゃ joins the kana before it | |
| きて | きって kitte | without the small っ the word is きて, “come”, not “stamp” | |
| せんせ | せんせい sensei | the long e of this word takes い | |
| おばさん | おばあさん obāsan | “grandmother” is written with the long vowel ああ; おばさん means “aunt” |