Japanese Pronunciation Guide for Beginners226

Japanese pronunciation can be a bit tricky for beginners, but with a little practice, you'll be speaking like a native in no time. Here's a guide to the basics of Japanese pronunciation, including how to pronounce each of the Japanese syllables and some common words and phrases.

Japanese Syllables

Japanese is a syllabic language, meaning that each syllable is pronounced distinctly. There are 46 basic syllables in Japanese, each of which consists of a consonant followed by a vowel. The consonants are: k, s, t, n, h, m, y, r, w, g, z, d, b, p, and the vowels are: a, i, u, e, and o.

The following table shows the pronunciation of each Japanese syllable:| Syllable | Pronunciation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| あ | a | あめ (ame) - candy |
| い | i | いぬ (inu) - dog |
| う | u | うみ (umi) - sea |
| え | e | えんぴつ (enpitsu) - pencil |
| お | o | おかあさん (okaasan) - mother |
| か | ka | かばん (kaban) - bag |
| き | ki | きいろ (kiiro) - yellow |
| く | ku | くま (kuma) - bear |
| け | ke | けが (kega) - injury |
| こ | ko | こども (kodomo) - child |
| さ | sa | さかな (sakana) - fish |
| し | shi | しろ (shiro) - white |
| す | su | すいか (suika) - watermelon |
| せ | se | せかい (sekai) - world |
| そ | so | そら (sora) - sky |
| た | ta | たべもの (tabemono) - food |
| ち | chi | ちいさい (chiisai) - small |
| つ | tsu | つき (tsuki) - moon |
| て | te | てがみ (tegami) - letter |
| と | to | としょかん (toshokan) - library |
| な | na | なまえ (namae) - name |
| に | ni | にほん (nihon) - Japan |
| ぬ | nu | ぬま (numa) - swamp |
| ね | ne | ねこ (neko) - cat |
| の | no | のり (nori) - seaweed |
| は | ha | はな (hana) - flower |
| ひ | hi | ひかり (hikari) - light |
| ふ | fu | ふく (fuku) - clothes |
| へ | he | へや (heya) - room |
| ほ | ho | ほし (hoshi) - star |
| ま | ma | まど (mado) - window |
| み | mi | みず (mizu) - water |
| む | mu | むぎ (mugi) - wheat |
| め | me | めがね (megane) - glasses |
| も | mo | もり (mori) - forest |
| や | ya | やきゅう (yakyuu) - baseball |
| ゆ | yu | ゆき (yuki) - snow |
| よ | yo | よる (yoru) - night |
| ら | ra | らじお (rajio) - radio |
| り | ri | りんご (ringo) - apple |
| る | ru | るす (rusu) - Russian |
| れ | re | れんしゅう (renshuu) - practice |
| ろ | ro | ろく (roku) - six |
| わ | wa | わたり (wataru) - to cross |
| を | wo | をかし (okashi) - candy |
| ん | n | んご (ngo) - five |

Common Japanese Words and Phrases

Here are some common Japanese words and phrases that you might find useful:| Word or Phrase | Pronunciation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| こんにちは | konnichiwa | hello |
| ありがとう | arigatou | thank you |
| はじめまして | hajimemashite | nice to meet you |
| お元気ですか | ogenkidesuka | how are you? |
| 元気です | genkidesu | I'm fine |
| さようなら | sayounara | goodbye |
| すみません | sumimasen | excuse me |
| トイレはどこですか | toire wa doko desu ka | where is the bathroom? |
| おいくらですか | oikura desu ka | how much is this? |
| おいし

2024-12-20

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