Lesson 1 Pronunciation / Basics
Japanese pronunciation is not so difficult. I will show you
the similar English (British) pronunciation. Try to learn and
check it in the pop quiz below. If you want to confirm your
pronunciation, please use the voice message board. Anyone
who understands Japanese will give you advice. Click here
Letter Similar English (British) pronunciation Example
a as the 'a' in father Asa (morning)
e as the 'e' in 'get' E (picture)
i as the 'i' in 'sit' Isu (chair)
o as the 'o' in hot Otoko (male)
u as the 'u' in put Uma (horse)
f Unlike the "f" sound in English, this sound
is produced by drawing the lips together in
little folds and blowing lightly.		 Fuyu (winter)
g as the 'g' in 'get' Gakkou (school)
g as the 'ng' in sing Ringo (apple)
r more like an 'l' than an 'r' risu (squirrel)


Long vowels like aa, ee, ii, oo, and uu are pronounced in the same way
as standard vowels. But it sounds twice as long as the standard
vowels do. You have to be careful with vowel length because it can
change the meaning of the word. For example, "Ojisan" is uncle /
middle aged man and "ojiisan" is grandfather. "Yuuki" is brave and
"yuki" is snow. Text books usually express such long vowels with a
macron or bar over the words. But here, they are expressed using
double a, e, i, o and u. as every browser can show them.


Japanese Language Pop Quiz
(Lesson 1 Pronunciation / Basics) (13 quizzes)

Solution:

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