Genki Textbook page 24 Japanese Sounds and Pronunciation
Genki Textbook page 24 あ う い お え Japanese Sounds and Pronunciation
Three types of writing 私 は カナダ に 行きます。 Watashi wa kanada ni ikimasu. 1. Kanji 2. Hiragana 3. Katakana *Romaji
Kanji 漢字 • Chinese or native-Japanese origin • used for whole words • used for parts of words such as verbs
Hiragana ひらがな • • 48 characters phonetic syllabary used for Japanese words with no kanji used for grammar such as prepositions, verb conjugations
Katakana カタカナ • • 48 characters phonetic syllabary used foreign words used to show emphasis ie onomatopoeia
Romaji ローマ字 • roman alphabet used to show the pronunciation of Japanese words • used for learners of Japanese only
Pronunciation はつおん • 5 main vowels (short and long) SHORT SOUNDS LONG SOUNDS あ ああ a ā い いい i ii or ī う うう u ū e o え お ē or ei ō ええ えい おう おお • Similar to: Ah, we soon get old.
Genki Textbook front cover Hiragana Chart
Genki workbook pg 117 -121 Hiragana – basic sounds Mnemonics from: http: //www. canyouchopstick. com/2011/01/katakana-mnemonic/ Animations from: http: //japaneselanguageculturefood. com/japanese-language-katakana. htm
• Genki workbook pg 117 – Practice writing as we go!
A あ An antenna is up on the roof. あ as in ‘up on the roof’.
I い There are two eels. い as in ‘eels’.
U う Ooo! This is heavy! う as in ‘Ooo!’
E え I have to exercise. え as in ‘exercise’.
O お A golf ball is on the green. お as in ‘on the green’.
＊NOTE: Handwritten Print
KA か A kite is flying in the sky. か as in ‘kite’.
KI き I have a key. き as in ‘key’.
KU く Here comes a cuckoo bird. く as in ‘cuckoo’.
KE け A keg of beer. け as in ‘keg’.
KO こ An apple core. こ as in ‘core’.
• Genki workbook pg 117 II and III - Can you write the words?
＊NOTE: Handwritten Print
• Genki workbook pg 118 – Practice writing as we go!
SA さ I love sake! さ as in ‘sake’.
SHI し She has a ponytail. し as in ‘she’.
SU す The pigs tail will soon fall off. す as in ‘soon’.
SE せ Sensei’s hat. せ as in ‘sensei’.
SO そ Zig-zag sewing. そ as in ‘sewing’.
TA た A letter ‘t’ and ‘a’ make ta. た as in ‘ta’.
CHI ち She’s a cheerleader. ち as in ‘cheerleader’.
TSU つ Tsunami is a tidal wave. つ as in ‘tsunami’.
TE て The dog is wagging his tail. て as in ‘tail’.
TO と Ouch! A nail is in my toe. と as in ‘toe’.
• Genki workbook pg 118 II and III - Can you write the words?
• Genki workbook pg 119 – Practice writing as we go!
NA な A nun is kneeling in front of the cross. な as in ‘nun’.
NI に A needle and thread. に as in ‘needle’.
NU ぬ The egg fell out of the bowl with noodles and chopsticks. ぬ as in ‘noodles’.
NE ね I caught a big fish in my net. ね as in ‘net’.
NO の Do not enter! の as in ‘not’.
HA は I live in a house. は as in ‘house’.
HI ひ He is on the wall. ひ as in ‘he’.
FU ふ I climbed Mt Fuji. ふ as in ‘Fuji’.
HE へ There is a haystack. へ as in ‘haystack’.
HO ほ A house becomes a home with a satellite. ほ as in ‘home’.
• Genki workbook pg 119 II and III - Can you write the words?
• Genki workbook pg 120 – Practice writing as we go!
MA ま Mum loves music. ま as in ‘mum’.
MI み Who’s 21? Me! み as in ‘me’.
MU む Moo-moo cow. む as in ‘moo’.
ME め Chopsticks and noodles without any mess. め as in ‘mess’.
MO も The more worms, the more fish. も as in ‘more’.
YA や Yay, I’m on a yacht. や as in ‘yay’.
YU ゆ Make a U-turn. ゆ as in ‘U-turn’.
YO よ Yoga is hard. よ as in ‘yoga’.
• Genki workbook pg 120 II and III - Can you write the words?
＊NOTE: Handwritten Print
• Genki workbook pg 121 – Practice writing as we go!
RA ら I love steamy ramen noodles. ら as in ‘ramen’.
RI り A pretty ribbon. り as in ‘ribbon’.
RU る Catch a kangaroo with a loop in the rope. る as in ‘kangaroo’.
RE れ Ready, set, go. Let’s race! れ as in ‘Ready’.
RO ろ No loop in the rope. The kangaroo got away! ろ as in ‘rope’.
WA わ Wow! A magic wand. わ as in ‘Wow’.
O を Oh! A cheerleader is on my toe. を as in ‘oh!’.
N ん The letter ‘n’ in end. ん as in ‘end’.
• Genki workbook pg 121 II and III - Can you write the words?
• ん ‘n’ is the only independent sound • nasal sound • When ‘n’ is followed by b, m, p the ‘n’ sound is more like ‘m’
Dropping sounds The ‘u’ sound at the end of verbs is often dropped: です desu = des＿ ございます gozaimasu = gozaimas＿ When pronouncing ‘shite’ the ‘i’ sound is often dropped: はじめまして hajimemashite = hajimemash＿te しつれい shitsurei = sh＿tsurei
Particles – Hiragana changes Particles are grammatical markers and are put before or after Japanese words to make a sentence. Eg. In romaji particles are written on their own separate from other words. Ie. Watashi wa kōen e ikimasu. wa は （not わ) o を （not お） e へ （not え）
Hiragana – other sounds Ten ten and maru Combined sounds
Tenten and Maru
＊NOTE じ ず mostly used ぢ づ rarely used
Combined sounds The hiragana line ending in ‘i’ sound can be combined with small： • ‘ya’ や • ‘yu’ ゆ • ‘yo’ よ These create combined sounds and represent 1 syllable. Compare these sounds: きや vs きゃ しゆ vs しゅ ちよ vs ちょ big big small
ひや big small
• Genki textbook pg 290 A-D (Basic sounds revision) • Genki textbook pg 291 E-F(Listening) • Workbook pg 122
Hiragana – other sounds Small ‘tsu’ and Long sounds
• four double consonants - kk, pp, ss, and tt • in hiragana they are represented by a small tsu っ • double consonants indicate a small pause so the mouth can prepare for the pronunciation of the next syllable
Pause sound (small tsu つ) kk けっこん kekkon (marriage) pp きっぷ ss まっすぐ massugu (go straight) tt きって kippu (tickets) kitte (ticket)
• Genki textbook pg 292 G-H • Workbook pg 123
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