Now that we have seen the different writing systems of the Japanese language, we can focus on the katakana and hiragana which have four rules of use.
First, the accents. There are two types of accents on katakana :
• Dakuten (also called tenten)
• Hankadakuten (maru)
These accents, applied to a kana, will change the reading of the syllable, will more exactly change the consonant of the syllable. It works for both katakana and hiragana. However, for convenience, we will do all of that on hiragana. Keep in mind that this is exactly the same rule as for katakana.
あ a
い i
う u
か ka
き ki
ま ma
→ No changes
か ka
き ki
く ku
け ke
こ ko
が ga
ぎ gi
ぐ gu
げ ge
ご go
→ We add a dakuten, the sound [k] becomes [g]
さ sa
し shi
す su
せ se
そ so
ざ za
じ ji
ず zu
ぜ ze
ぞ zo
→ We add a dakuten, the sound [s] becomes [z]
Attention : the し shi becomes じ ji.
た ta
ち chi
つ tsu
て te
と to
だ da
ぢ ji
づ zu
で de
ど do
→ We add a dakuten, the sound [t] becomes [d]
Attention : the ち shi becomes ぢ ji.
Attention : the つ tsu becomes づ zu.
な na
に ni
ぬ nu
ね ne
の no
→ No changes
は ha
ひ hi
ふ fu
へ he
ほ ho
ば ba
び bi
ぶ bu
べ be
ぼ bo
ぱ pa
ぴ pi
ぷ pu
ぺ pe
ぽ po
→ We add a dakuten, the sounds [h] and [f] become [b]
→ We add a dakuten, the sounds [h] and [f] become [p]
ま ma
み mi
む mu
め me
も mo
→ No changes
や ya
ゆ yu
よ yo
→ No changes
ら ra
り ri
る ru
れ re
ろ ro
→ No changes
わ wa
を wo / o
→ No changes
ん n
→ No changes
Thus, the new consonants in hiragana are :
が ga
ぎ gi
ぐ gu
げ ge
ご go
ざ za
じ ji
ず zu
ぜ ze
ぞ zo
だ da
ぢ ji
づ zu
で de
ど do
ば ba
び bi
ぶ bu
べ be
ぼ bo
ぱ pa
ぴ pi
ぷ pu
ぺ pe
ぽ po
We find the same thing in katakana :
ガ ga
ギ gi
グ gu
ゲ ge
ゴ go
ザ za
ジ ji
ズ zu
ゼ ze
ゾ zo
ダ da
ヂ ji
ヅ zu
デ de
ド do
バ ba
ビ bi
ブ bu
ベ be
ボ bo
パ pa
ピ pi
プ pu
ペ pe
ポ po
Now, here are some examples of words in which we find these syllables (I give you the words in hiragana and katakana so that you will realize).
かぜ .
wind
ぼんさい .
bonsai
てがみ .
letter (that we send by post)
ひがさ .
parasol
ばとう .
insult, name-calling
いずみ .
fountain
えいが .
film, cinema
じかん .
time, hour
ぞう .
elephant
だるま .
daruma
ラジオ .
radio
ドア .
door
Note that accentuations in Japanese do not occur accidentally.
In Japanese, in the word ぼんさい for example, the « ぼ », is a « ぼ » ; it is not an accented « ほ ». Ditto for the « da » of だるま. Understand that these syllables exist as is in these words. There is more to know about these syllables and why we end up with a « が » in certain words rather than a « か » and so on. We will see all this in more detail in another course.
The sounds [k] « か » and [g] « が »
It’s time to tackle some notions of phonetics. Although this is a written course, I will try to use easy to understand terms.
Let us take an interest in the creation of the new syllables that we have just seen. A first question that we could ask ourselves would be, for example, how did we go from « か » to « が » or even from « つ » to « づ » ?
If you repeatedly say the « か » and the « が » or even the « つ » and the « づ », you will realize that the sounds [k] and [g] are quite similar. Ditto for the sounds [ts] and [z].
The pronunciation of syllables essentially uses two large centers. We have the mouth which is the main center of pronunciation which is made up of the tongue in relation to everything around the cheeks, teeth, palate and the beginning of the throat. And then, you have the vocal cords which will allow, by vibrating, to make sounds.
In phonetics, we differentiate two types of consonants : deaf consonants and voiced consonants. To better understand, how it works, an example.
[k] « か »
Say a « か » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « か » is a deaf consonant.
[g] « が »
Now try to pronounce a « が » without using your vocal cords. You will quickly realize that this is not possible because the « が » is a voiced consonant. You are required to use the vocal cords to pronounce the « が ».
[k] « か » and [g] « が » are velar occlusive consonants.
The difference between the two syllables is simple. The position of the tongue at the level of the mouth is the same. It’s just that there is one syllable where we will not use the vocal cords and another where we will use them.
Thus, the « か » is a deaf syllable, the « が » is a voiced syllable.
This is why in Japanese the two syllables are written in the same way. The dakuten is there to indicate that the syllable is voiced.
The sounds [s] « さ » and [g] « ざ »
Now let’s take the sound [s] with the syllable « さ » and the sound [z] with the syllable « ざ ». It’s exactly the same thing.
[s] « さ »
Say a « さ » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « さ » is a deaf consonant.
[z] « ざ »
Now try to pronounce a « ざ » without using your vocal cords. You will quickly realize that this is not possible because the « ざ » is a voiced consonant. You are required to use the vocal cords to pronounce the « ざ ».
[s] « さ » and [z] « ざ » are alveolar fricative consonants.
The sounds [t] « た » and [d] « だ »
The sound [t] with the syllable « た » and the sound [d] with the syllable « だ ». It’s exactly the same thing.
[t] « た »
Say a « た » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « た » is a deaf consonant.
[d] « だ »
Now try to pronounce a « だ » without using your vocal cords. You will quickly realize that this is not possible because the « だ » is a voiced consonant. You are required to use the vocal cords to pronounce the « だ ».
[t] « た » and [d] « だ » are alveolar occlusive consonants.
The sounds [h] « は », [b] « ば » and [p] « ぱ »
Let’s go to sound [h] with the syllable « は ». It’s a deaf consonant. Let us now see the two sounds derived from this syllable : the sound [b] with the syllable « ば » and the sound [p] with the syllable « ぱ ».
[h] « は » is a glottal fricative consonant.
[b] « ば »
Try to pronounce a « ば » without using your vocal cords. You will quickly realize that this is not possible because the « ば » is a voiced consonant. You are required to use the vocal cords to pronounce the « ば ».
[p] « ぱ »
Say a « ぱ » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « ぱ » is a deaf consonant. Knowing that the syllable « は » is itself a deaf consonant and that we already have the syllable « ば » with a dakuten, this new sound will be indicated by a handakuten.
[b] « ば » and [p] « ぱ » are bilabial occlusive consonants.
The sounds [ʃ] « し », [ʒ] « じ » and [ʃ] « ふ »
[ʃ] « し »
Say a « し » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « し » is a deaf consonant.
[ʒ] « じ »
Now try to pronounce a « じ » without using your vocal cords. You will quickly realize that this is not possible because the « じ » is a voiced consonant. You are required to use the vocal cords to pronounce the « じ ».
[ʃ] « ふ »
Say a « ふ » without using your vocal cords. This is possible because the « ふ » is a deaf consonant.
[ʃ] « し » and [ʒ] « じ » are palato-alveolar fricative consonants.
This course is now over. We’ve just seen the first rule of using kana, and you’ve learned a little more about the Japanese phonics. All the slightly technical words about consonants, you don’t have to remember them, the important thing is the accents.
I leave you now to your exercises, available through the link at the bottom of the page. These exercises assess whether you are able to write your hiragana and katakana with accents and remember their pronunciation.
In the first exercise, I give you hiragana and katakana with accents and you must write the reading in rōmaji next to it. In the second exercise, I give you the reading in rōmaji and you have to write the corresponding hiragana or katakana next to it (with the corresponding accent of course). Nothing complicated then, all this is only learning by heart.
I wish you to revise your course well and see you next time.
Introduction