Japanese Lesson 1 - PronunciationPronunciation in Japanese is very important. It is what makes you understand and be understood. It may take time, but you will get it with listening and practice. Listening to Japanese speakers is the best way to train your ear to hear Japanese syllables and this in turn will help with your ability to speak. Listening to music, watching Japanese TV shows, and such is a good way to hear spoken Japanese. To practice, I would recommend speaking to yourself in a quiet room.
Japanese is fairly easy in the way of pronunciation. Your basic sounds are:
a - ah 'a' as in f
ather.
i - ee 'i' as in k
iw
i.
u - oo 'u' as in f
ood.
e - eh 'e' as in
egg.
o - oh 'o' as in b
oat.
After you master the above sounds, you will find that the rest of the Japanese 'alphabet' is fairly easy.
*shi - you will find that this sound is a cross between 'shi' and 'si'. If you find that you are unsure how to pronounce this, then just say 'shi'. It will make it easier on you and you will still be understood.
*chi - this is a cross between 'chi' and 'ti'. Again, if you are unsure how to pronounce this, use plain 'chi'
*tsu - this is probably one of the hardest to pronounce. You have to roll the 't' and the 's' together to get the right sound.
*fu - this is a cross between 'fu' and 'hu'.
*ra, ri, ru, re, ro - these are extremely hard to pronounce for most foreigners. The 'r' sound is a cross between 'l' and 'd'. Your tongue doesn't quit touch the roof of your mouth while saying these. If it helps, smile wide as you practice saying these; it will help.
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Hiragana and Katakana are two different ways of writing. Though the the sounds are the same, both have different uses. Katakana is used for foreign words, such as 'elevator' (エレベーター). Hiragana is used for non-foreign words, such as 'apple' (りんご).
The third form of writing is called kanji. Kanji and hiragana are typically used together to create Japanese sentences. We will explore kanji a little later on.
