Table 1. Representation of the Japanese syllables in our alphabet.

a i u e o

ka ki ku ke ko

ta chi tsu te to

sa shi su se so

na ni nu ne no n

ha hi fu he ho

ma mi mu me mo

ya yu yo

ra ri ru re ro

wa Wo - o

Table 2. Hiragana Chart

Table 2. Representation of the Japanese syllables in Dakuten (Diacritical Marks

 The dakuten (Japanese: 濁点, Japanese pronunciation: [dakɯ̥ teꜜɴ] or [dakɯ̥ teɴ], lit. "voicing
mark"), colloquially ten-ten (点々, "dots"), like a closing apostrophe, is a diacritic sign most
often used in the Japanese kana syllabaries to indicate that the consonant of a syllable should be
pronounced voiced, for instance, on sounds that have undergone rendaku (sequential voicing).
 ga gi gu ge go

za ji zu ze zo

da ji zu ze zo

ba bi bu be bo

pa pi pu pe po

 The handakuten, colloquially maru, is a diacritic, looks like a sign degree, used with the kana for
syllables starting with h to indicate that they should instead be pronounced with.

Table 3. Hiragana Chart -2 Dakuon and Handakuon

Table 4. Hiragana Compound Syllables (Yōon)/Transcribing Contracted Sounds

A small version of the hiragana for ya, yu, or yo (ゃ, ゅ or ょ respectively) may be added to hiragana ending in
i. This changes the i vowel sound to a glide (palatalization) to a, u or o. For example, き (ki) plus ゃ (small ya) becomes き
ゃ (kya).
Table 5. The Hiragana Chart

 Note the following special cases marked with emphasis in the chart:

• /s+i/ is pronounced /shi/

• /z+i/ is pronounced /ji/

• /t+u/ is pronounced /tsu/

• /d+i/ is pronounced /ji/

• /d+u/ is pronounced /zu/

1. Transcribing Double Consonants/ Long Consonants

There is another small letter っ(tsu) , which is used when

transcribing double consonants such as tt and pp. The consonants /t/, /s/, /k/, and /p/ can be long. When
these consonants constitute an entire syllable without a vowel, they are not pronounced but take a full syllable
length.

• 6 syllables: i-t-te ki-ma-su‘I’m leaving.’

• 3 syllables: I-p-pon ‘one long thing’

• 3 syllables: I-k-ko ‘one round thing’

• 3 syllables: i-s-sho ‘together’

The consonant /n/ can take up an entire syllable by itself, as in konnichiwa’ hello’ (5 syllables: ko-n-ni-chi-
wa).

Examples: かった katta (won) cf. かた kata shoulder

さっか sakka (writer) saka さか

はっぱ happa (leaf)

ざ っし zashhi (magazine)f

Note that double consonant n’s, as in sannen (3 years) are written wih ん + hiragana with an initial n sound ( na (な) , ni
( に) , nu ぬ, ne (ね) no (の) )

Examples: さんねん sannen (3 years)

あんない annai (guide)

2. Other issues relating to Transcription and Pronunciation

A. Long Vowels
 When the same vowel is placed one right after the other, the pronunciation of

the vowel becomes about twice as long as the single vowel. Be sure to hold

the sound long enough, because the length of the vowel can change one word

to another. The five long vowels in Japanese: /aa/, /ii/, /uu/, /ee/, and /oo/.

In the writing system, the long versions of /a/, /i/, and /u/ are recognized as

the same sound: /aa/, /ii/, /uu/. But the long version of /o/ (with certain

exceptions) is represented by /ou/ and the long version of /e/ (with certain

exceptions) is written as /ei/.

aa おばあさん obaasan (grandmother) cf. おばさん obasan (aunt)

ii おじ いさん (grandfather) cf. おじさん ojisan (unce)

uu すうじ suuji (number) suji

ee The long vowel is usually transcribed by adding an い to an e-

vowel hiragana. There are a few words, however, in which え is

used instead of い.

えいが eega eiga (movie)

おねえさん oneesan (big sister)

oo - ou The long oo sound is in most cases transcribed by adding an う

to an o-vowel hiragana. There are, however, words in which

the long vowel is transcribed with an お for historical reasons.

ほうりつ hooritsu (law)

とう too (ten)

Ohayou gozaimasu

Ohayoo gozaimasu ohayô gozaimasu

ん (n) is treated like a full syllable, in terms of length. Its pronunciation

varies however depending on the sound that follows it. Japanese speakers

are normally not aware of the different sound values of ん. Therefore, you

do not need to worry too much about its pronunciation.

C. Vowels to Be Dropped

The vowels i and u are sometimes dropped when placed between voiceless

voiceless consonants (k,s,t,p, and h) or at the end of an utterance preceded

by voiceless consonants.

Example: すき です s(u)ki des(u) (I like it.)

D. Accent in the Japanese Language

Japanese has a pitch accent: all syllables are pronounced basically either in

high or low pitch. Unlike the English stress accent in which stressed syllables

tends to be pronounced longer and louder. In Japanese, each syllable is

pronounced approximately in equal length and stress. The pitch patterns in

Japanese vary greatly, depending on the region of the country.

Examples: あさ a (morning)

sa

ma

なまえ namae na (name)

たかい ka

ta i ( high)
As you listen to Japanese, you will notice rises and falls in pitch. Pitch can change from syllable to syllable in order to
distinguish meaning. For example, there is a fall in pitch in hai ‘yes’, while there is a rise in hai ‘ash’. The difference in
pitch pattern distinguishes these two words. This is called pitch accent.

HAi ‘yes’

haI ‘ash’ (The high pitch is indicated by the capital and emphasis.)

inSULT (verb) (The loud syllable is indicated by the capital and emphasis.)

All Japanese words have one of the following pitch patterns:

Fall: JAa ‘well then’

DOumo ‘thanks’

DOuzo ‘go ahead’

Rise: iIE ‘no’

saYONARA ‘good bye’

taDAIMA ‘I’m home’

oHAYOU ‘good morning’

yoROSHIKU ‘Nice to meet you’

Rise and Fall:

aRIgatou ‘thanks’

shiTSUrei-shimasu ‘Excuse me’

suMIMASEn ‘Sorry’

If a word has only one syllable, a fall or a rise occurs with the following word.

HA desu. ‘It’s a tooth.’

ha DEsu. ‘It’s a leaf.’