Nihongo de Douzo- A Guide to Japanese for the Perplexed

Having trouble pronouncing Tsukino Usagi? Wondering what arigatou means? Nihongo (japanese) giving you a hard time? You've come to the right place.

Basic Pronunciation

Five Basic Sounds
A as in ha
I as in eel
U as in hoop
E as in egg
O as in go


A Few Basics
  • There are two alphabets comprised of the same phonic sounds- hiragana and katakana. Hiragana is used for basic writing. Katakana is used mostly (not fully) for writing foreign words and names. Kanji are Chinese characters used by the Japanese. Examples: Bishoujo Senshi is written in kanji. Seeraamuun (Sailormoon) is written in katakana. Usagi is written in hiragana.
    aiueo
    gkakikukeko
    zsashisuseso
    dtachitsuteto
    naninuneno
    b/phahifuheho
    mamimumemo
    yayuyo
    rarirurero
    wao
    n
    Let me translate. These are the basic sounds in hiragana and katakana. If you add two dots to the character, the ka line becomes ga, sa becomes za. ta becomes da, and ha becomes ba. If you add a small circle to ha, it becomes pa.
  • Ha is sometimes seen like in Unmei ha Utsukushiku. It is pronounced wa. Wo is seen in Onaji Namida wo Wakeatte is pronounced O, usually. Fu as in Funanori is usually pronounced hu.
  • There is no L sound in Japanese, so it is converted to R. That DOES NOT go for the reverse. Haruka is not Haluka and Serenity is not Selenity.
  • Lines are used in katakana writing to prolong sound- like in se-ra-mu-n. A small tsu which looks like a comma is used to make a break within a word, like i,pai (full). In english writing, this is signified by double consonants, like fukkatsusai (Easter).
  • U following O makes a LONG O sound. It should be Tennou, not Tennoh.

    TuxedoMask.com will further delve into this. Now, lets get to the definitions:
    A
    ai - love (Ai no Senshi - Warrior of Love)
    atama - head (Odango-Atama - Dumpling Head)
    B
    bishoujo - beautiful girl, pretty girl, smiling girl
    C
    chibi - small (ChibiUsa, ChibiMoon)
    chinmoku - silence
    D
    daijoubu - I'm all right, He/She's all right, its all right, etc.
    E
    e - picture
    enikki - picture diary (ChibiUsa no Enikki)
    enajii - energy
    H
    ha (pronounced wa) - is, are
    hi - fire
    funanori - sailor
    henshin - transform (henshin shite-to transform)
    J
    juuban - tenth (Juuban high School)
    jikan - time
    K
    ki - tree
    kawaii - cute
    kaze - wind
    M
    mizu - water
    makoto - honesty
    N
    naru - to become
    O
    ocha - green tea
    P
    pawaa - power
    R
    rei - spirit
    S
    seigi - justice
    shoujo - girl
    T
    tsuki - moon
    U
    umi - sea
    usagi - rabbit
    Y
    yuujou - friendship
    Z
    zettai - absolute
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