HIRAGANA RULES LONG VOWELS DOUBLE CONSONANTS TRADITIONAL SOUNDS

HIRAGANA RULES: - LONG VOWELS - DOUBLE CONSONANTS - TRADITIONAL SOUNDS - PARTICLES

LONG VOWELS aa or ā Represented by adding あ okaasan = おかあさん okāsan = おかあさん

ii or ī Represented by adding い oniisan = おにいさん onīsan = おにいさん

ee or ē Represented by adding え oneesan = おねえさん onēsan = おねえさん

oo or ou or ō Usually represented by adding う kyoo = きょう kyou = きょう kyō = きょう

uu or ū Represented by addingう chuugoku =　ちゅうごく chūgoku = 　ちゅうごく

TRADITIONAL SOUNDS oo or ō Some traditional words written by adding お not う ookii ōkii =　おおきい = おおきい

ji or zu are usually represented by じ and ず Some traditional words use ぢ and づ jisho　 =　じしょ chizakai =　ぢざかい (TRAD) chizu　 = ちず tsuzukeru = つづける (TRAD)

DOUBLE CONSONANTS kk, pp, ss, and tt are represented by a small っ (NOT big つ) small っ indicates a small pause so the mouth can prepare for the pronunciation of the next syllable gakkō = がっこう juppun = じゅっぷん zasshi = ざっし kitte = きって

PARTICLES Particle wa is represented by は not わ Particle o is represented by を not お Particle e is represented by へ not え Mizu o nomimasu. みず　を　のみます。 Boku wa Kyōto e ikimasu. ぼく　は　きょうと　へ　いきます。

かけますか？ obāsan (grandmother) ojīsan (grandfather) yūgata (evening) taifū (typhoon) ēto (um) sayōnara (goodbye) dōmo arigatō (thank you) ikko (one small thing) nijuppun (20 minutes) issatsu (one flat item) chotto (a little)

どうでしたか？ obāsan (grandmother) ojīsan (grandfather) yūgata (evening) taifū (typhoon) ēto (um) sayōnara (goodbye) dōmo arigatō (thank you) ikko (one small thing) nijuppun (20 minutes) issatsu (one flat item) chotto (a little) おばあさん おじいさん ゆうがた たいふう ええと さようなら どうも　ありがとう いっこ にじゅっぷん いっさつ ちょっと