Japanese pronunciation is not difficult. The most important
pronunciations are those of the five vowels. As long as you can
distinguish the five vowels
clearly, you'll be alright! All other syllables consist of consonants
and these vowels.
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a sounds like
"a" as in "art"
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i sounds like
"ea" as in "eat"
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u sounds like
"oo" as in "food"
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e sounds like
"e" as in "bed"
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o sounds like
"o" as in "orange"
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But keep them all SHORT and CLIPPED. And WHENEVER you see those vowels
written in rōmaji, ALWAYS pronounce them in the same way.
Add the consonant "k" before each of these vowels.
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a i u e o
ka ki ku ke ko
The shape of your mouth should be the same because the vowels are the same.
Below is the chart of basic Japanese syllables
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あ a
い i
う u
え e
お o
か ka
き ki
く ku
け ke
こ ko
さ sa
し shi
す su
せ se
そ so
た ta
ち chi
つ tsu
て te
と to
な na
に ni
ぬ nu
ね ne
の no
は ha
ひ hi
ふ fu
へ he
ほ ho
ま ma
み mi
む mu
め me
も mo
や ya
ゆ yu
よ yo
ら ra
り ri
る ru
れ re
ろ ro
わ wa
を wo
ん n
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Some important things to note:
The sound "n" without a vowel can be used at the end of a word or in
the middle of a word. Usually say it as it looks to you and you will
be fine.
When you see the symbol: " ˉ " above a vowel, make it a long sound.
For example: sayōnara.
When you see double consonants like "tt" and "kk," insert a little gap
before a "t" or "k" sound. For "chotto," insert a gap between "cho"
and "to." For
"gakkō," insert a gap between "ga" and "kō."
There are some other combinations such as "kya" and "kyo." Pronounce
them as one syllable, not two. For example: kyōto, tōkyō
Sometimes vowels "i" and "u" sound like they are missing, like desu.
But enough is there to know it is "su" and not "sa" or any other
vowel. The name "Yoshiko"
I used in the previous newsletter also has a missing "i." It is
pronounced with an accent on the first syllable. But enough is there
to know it is not
"sha" but "shi."
Lastly, try to say the following Japanese words written in rōmaji.
Remember to pronounce the vowels! Don't confuse them with English
words!!!!
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are
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kite
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sake
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me
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to
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II. "What's Your Name and Where are You From?"
Before we get into the more grammatical side of today's lesson, let's
look at the following country names and see if you can recognize them.
Some of them
you can sound out and guess what they are.
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nihon
Japan
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amerika
America
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kanada
Canada
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igirisu
England
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furansu
France
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doitsu
Germany
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indo
India
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kankoku
Korea
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chūgoku
China
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Just add jin after each of these country names, and then you have a
"person from that country."
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nihon jin
= Japanese person
[...] desu is the most basic sentence in Japanese language.
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Nihon jin desu can mean:
I am Japanese.
You are Japanese.
He/she is Japanese.
We are Japanese.
They are Japanese.
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That is because we tend to drop the subject part of the sentence.
Actually, it's not just the subject part that is often omitted. Many
things that have
been previously mentioned or understood are omitted.
If I am standing in front of a group of people and have just
introduced myself and said Nihon jin desu, then it is obvious that I
mean "I am Japanese."
If I am pointing at my friend standing next to me and say Nihon jin
desu, then I mean "she is Japanese."
The basic sentence structure is this.
[ A ] wa [ B ] desu.
[ A ] = [ B ]
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A (I) =
B (Japanese)
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Watashi wa nihon jin desu.
A (Kenny) =
B (English)
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Kenī san wa igirisu jin desu.
A (I) =
B (Sayaka)
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Watashi wa Sayaka desu.
A (I) =
B (well)
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Watashi wa genki desu.
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As I mentioned before, the subject part is often dropped. So we end up with:
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Nihon jin desu.
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Sayaka desu.
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Genki desu.
We know how to make these into questions, don't we?
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Nihon jin desu ka.
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Sayaka san desu ka.
(Remembering to add san to someone else's name)
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O genki desu ka.
(Remembering to add o to genki )
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If you replace it with a question word that means "what," you get:
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Nan desu ka. What is it?
What is it?
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O namae wa nan desu ka?
What is your name?
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Next let's go back to the names of the countries and learn to say
where you are from.
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Nihon
kara
kimashita.
Arrow
Arrow
from
came
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Literally, it is saying "I came from Japan." But watashi wa has been
omitted because it is obvious.
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Watashi wa nihon kara kimashita.
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Kenī san wa igirisu kara kimashita.
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Pōru san wa doitsu kara kimashita.
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Kenī san wa amerika kara kimashita ka?
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Let's replace amerika with another question word that means "where."
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A: Kenī san wa doko kara kimashita ka?
Where are you from Kenny?
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B: Igirisu kara kimashita.
Im from England.
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III. All About the Word "You"
The Japanese translation for the English word "you" is anata. However,
many people will choose to avoid using this word whenever we can.
How? We usually use the person's name instead of anata.
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Sayaka:
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Anata wa amerika jin desu ka.
Are you American?
Kenny:
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Īe, kanada jin desu.
No, I'm Canadian.
Sayaka:
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Kenī san wa amerika jin desu ka.
Are you American?
Kenny:
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Īe, kanada jin desu.
No, I'm Canadian.
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If I am talking to Paul, Kenny's friend, about Kenny, what would I say?
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Sayaka:
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Kenī san wa amerika jin desu ka.
Is Kenny American?
Paul:
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Īe, kanada jin desu.
No, he's Canadian.
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That's right. On the surface, these two sentences can be exactly the
same. It all depends on the context.
Well, I think that I must have satisfied whatever appetite you may
have had for grammar for one day… At least that's enough grammar and
explanations for
me! Next time we will be learning how to order drinks, and how to say
thank you in different ways. We'll also have a brief look at how some
Chinese characters
were made up!
Jā mata ne (Until then),
