In the previous course, we studied the first of the four rules that govern the functioning of katakana and hiragana : the rule of accents.
In this course, we will now discuss the second rule : the pause. It is applicable to both hiragana and katakana.
Sometimes in the middle of a Japanese word we’ll mark a pause. This is a downtime that we will mark just before a consonant. This pause will be worth an entire time, the pause will last the same time as the reading of a normal syllable. For example, if you read the word かたかな, each syllable making a beat, the whole word is worth four beats. The break is therefore worth a time and it is important to mark the pause well.
In rōmaji, we note this pause by doubling the consonant that precedes the sound. You have probably seen this on several websites, but don’t forget that a language is learned in its writing system, so...
In kana, we will use a small « tsu », either っ in hiragana and ッ. It is the same writing as the つ or the ツ but in smaller (about half the height). We will place this little « tsu » at the place of the pause. Note that the little っ / ッ is not pronounced, it is silent.
Let’s take an example :
とき y とっき
Note the presence of the pause in the word とっき. The two words, phonetically, are very similar and yet they both have their own meaning. They have nothing to do with each other. If we take a closer look at the kanji :
時 . とき is translated by « time ; moment »
特記 . とっき is translated by « special mention »
From there, you understand that the break can change the word. If you pronounce the word 特記 while eating the pause, the Japanese will not understand that you are trying to say « special mention ». Marking the pause orally is therefore very important.
I give you more examples and vocabulary below.
薬缶 . やかん . kettle
約款 . やっかん . clause, stipulation
夜会 . やかい . party (at night)
厄介 . やっかい . boredom, embarrassment, worry
打開 . だかい . issue, outcome, turning point
脱会 . だっかい . abandonment, withdrawal of an organization, a company...
餓鬼 . がき . kid boy (rather derogatory)
楽器 . がっき . music instrument
Of course, it is quite possible to have a pause before a hiragana or a kana with an accent. Observe the following examples :
切符 . きっぷ . ticket
カっプ . cup, goblet
カっプル . couple
カップ麺 . カっプめん . instant noodles ((in a cup))
カっプラーメン . instant Chinese noodles
The pause works very well with occlusive consonants. We talked about it in the previous lesson with the sounds [t], [k] and [p]. As a reminder, occlusive consonants are sounds that are produced by stopping the breath and releasing it.
The pause also works with fricative consonants, consonants that one can hold like the [s] and the [z]. Note that we cannot make a pause, orally speaking, as we could do with an occlusive consonant. For example, in the words below :
日参 . ニッサン . daily visit
雑誌 . ザッシ . magazine
喫茶 . キッサ . tea room
喫茶店 . キッサテン . tea room, cafe, refreshment bar
Practice pronouncing the pause. They are an integral part of the Japanese language; you will come across them all the time. In addition, while you wait for the audio files to be set up, you can find these examples on the website forvo.com, which is a pronunciation dictionary where you can easily find all possible and imaginable audio files.
You will notice that pauses can only be done in Japanese on deaf consonants. We have already seen in the previous course the difference between deaf consonants and voiced consonants. Deaf consonants are those that do not use the vocal cords and voiced consonants are those that use the vocal cords.
The pause will be on the deaf consonants, that is to say the [k], the [s], the [ʃ], it can be as occlusive as fricative. You cannot pause on voiced consonants, that is, [g], [z], [ʒ], [d], [b].
With the exception of a few rare words in katakana like ベッド, from the English « bed ».
For the sounds [n] and [m], we will also have a pause but which will be expressed more with a ん. Of course, these are not pause, not in the sense that we hear it in Japanese but it looks like it.
To give you some examples, we have the word おんな with a ん [n], and the word がんみ with a ん, although it is followed by a sound in [m] right after.
Now that this little part on phonetics is finished, we can move on to the conclusion.
In this course, I have introduced you to a few words in kanji although we have not yet really touched on this writing system. I’ve tried to choose very common words so for now, just memorize them. We’ll go into more detail on how the kanji writing system works much later and you’ll see everything crystal clear. No soucy !
Good ! This course is finally over. Okay, that one wasn’t very long. You now know how to write the pause in hiragana and katakana, you also know how it is pronounced. We will see in more detail in another course the reason for creating pause, whether in purely Japanese or Sino-Japanese words. For now, take the time to read the lesson over and over as often as necessary.
I leave you now with your exercises. In the first, I give you words in hiragana and katakana, and you have to write the right pronunciation in rōmaji with the pause in the right place by doubling the consonant. And in the second exercise, you must write the corresponding Japanese word in hiragana or katakana without forgetting the pause with the little っ / ッ.
I wish you to revise your course well and see you next time.
Introduction