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ОглавлениеChapter 1
Sounding Japanese
First things first! Even before you learn all the Japanese words you’ll soon be using, you will need to learn the basic building blocks: the Japanese sounds that form them.
When you talk to your new Japanese friends or office colleagues, you’ll want to make sure that they understand you clearly. And to do that, mastering the basic sounds of Japanese is key. Here’s how to make sure you are ready to pronounce the new words you will be learning.
Learning the Basic Japanese Syllables
There are fifty basic syllables in Japanese and they are arranged phonetically in the Gojūon-zu, literally “the 50-sound chart.”
To read the Gojūon-zu, start from the top of the right-hand column and read down the column: A, I, U, E, O; KA, KI, KU, KE, KO....
Say the syllables several times, until you start to feel comfortable with them.
| PYA | BYA | JA | GYA | RYA | MYA | HYA | NYA | CHA | SHA | KYA |
| PYU | BYU | JU | GYU | RYU | MYU | HYU | NYU | CHU | SHU | KYU |
| PYO | BYO | JO | GYO | RYO | MYO | HYO | NYO | CHO | SHO | KYO |
REMINDERS TO HELP
YOU There are 4 facts about pronouncing Japanese that you should try to keep in the back of your mind, at all times:
1. There is no silent “e” in Japanese at the end of words as there is in English. For example, the word sake (rice wine) is pronounced sa-ké.
2. Emphasis tends to be uniform in Japanese. For example, the word Okinawa is pronounced o-ki-na-wa with the stress being the same on all four syllables.
3. Some vowels or consonants are shortened or left out when words or sentences are spoken quickly, such as attakai (warm) instead of atatakai, suimasen (sorry) instead of sumimasen, tabeteru (be eating) instead of tabete iru, just as in English. (For example, “cannot” becomes “can’t”; “should not” becomes “shouldn’t.”)
4. In speech, the diphthong (two different vowels together) ei is usually pronounced as a long vowel ē; for example, like sensē (teacher) instead of sensei.
The Japanese Writing System (Script)
In Japanese writing, there are three types of symbols: kanji (which are Chinese characters, each with a meaning), hiragana, and katakana (which are two kinds of phonetic spelling alphabets similar to our alphabet). The same word can be written different ways in Japanese; for example, the word Okinawa can be written
沖縄 in kanji, おきなわ in hiragana, and オキナワ in katakana.
Japanese sentences are usually written in a mixture of these three characters, according to standard conventions of usage.
Kanji Characters in Japanese Have Two Different “Readings”
Kanji characters, which are similar to the characters used to write Chinese, are ideograms which convey meaning in the same way that pictures or drawings do—rather than conveying sounds the way that alphabets do. And a kanji character in Japanese generally has two different “readings” or pronunciations depending on the context: a Chinese and a Japanese reading.
The Chinese reading (called on yomi) is the way to say the character that is similar to the original Chinese pronunciation of the Chinese word. It is usually written with two or more kanji.
The Japanese reading (called kun yomi) is the way to say the character that reflects the pronunciation and meaning that the Japanese gave to that Chinese symbol when they used it to represent an indigenous Japanese word. It is normally written with one kanji or a mixture of kanji and hiragana.
As the purpose of this book is not to teach written Japanese, all Japanese words and sentences you’ll work with here are written using the Roman alphabet (rōmaji)—the letters you’re already familiar with, from English—to make your study of Japanese a little easier.
From Syllables... to Japanese Words
Some Japanese words consist of just one syllable such as ki (tree), e (picture), ha (tooth), te (hand) or cha (Japanese green tea). Most words, however, are made up of two or more syllables. In fact, there are many more multisyllabic words in Japanese than there are in English. Here are a few:
| mizu (water) | → | mi zu (2 syllables) |
| kuruma (car) | → | ku ru ma (3 syllables) |
| byōin (hospital) | → | byo o i n (4 syllables) |
| atarashii (new) | → | a ta ra shi i (5 syllables) |
| suizokukan (aquarium) | → | su i zo ku ka n (6 syllables) |
Vowels
In Japanese, there are short vowels and long vowels.
THE SHORT VOWEL SOUNDS
Let’s practice the five short vowel sounds a, i, u, e, and o first. These five short vowels are similar to the vowels used in English. Looking back at the syllable charts you’ve learned, you can see that most Japanese sounds use a consonant plus one of these short vowels. Simple enough! That fact is also helpful because it means that you should be able to hear and pronounce the Japanese sounds clearly and easily.
Look at the photographs below and pay special attention to how the words are formed with the mouth.
As you listen to the CD, pay attention to the slight differences from the English short vowel sounds that you’re used to.
THE LONG VOWEL SOUNDS
In addition to the five short vowel sounds, Japanese contains five double vowels or long vowel sounds, each of which is twice as long as the equivalent short vowel. In this book, a long vowel is shown with a long macron or dash mark ( – ) over the letter—except for the long i sound which is written ii.
| ā | ah | obāsan (grandmother) | → | o ba a sa n (5 syllables) | |
| ii | ee | iie (no) | → | i i e (3 syllables) | |
| ū | oo | fūsen (balloon) | → | fu u se n (4 syllables) | |
| ē | eh | onēsan (elder sister) | → | o ne e sa n (5 syllables) | |
| ō | oh | sōko (warehouse) | → | so o ko (3 syllables) |
It is important to take care when pronouncing long vowels since a long vowel can change the meaning of a word completely. For example, if obāsan is pronounced with a short vowel instead of a long vowel, the meaning changes from “grandmother” to “aunt.” More drastically, if a wife talks of her shujin, she means her “husband,” but if the word is pronounced with a long vowel, shūjin, she will end up talking about her “prisoner.” So, before pronouncing a word, always pay attention to whether it has a short or a long vowel.
THE VOICELESS VOWEL SOUNDS
Linguists talk about two kinds of sounds in the languages we speak: “voiced” sounds make your vocal cords vibrate, and “voiceless” sounds don’t. To understand this idea physically, place your hand under your chin, against your neck, over your vocal cords, then say a voiced sound like “g”. You’ll feel your vocal cords vibrate. Now say a voiceless sound like “t”. You’ll see that the difference is that the “g” sound is produced by vibrating the vocal cords—this is called a voiced sound.
In Japanese, certain vowels are voiced, but there are a few that are voiceless:
1. When the Japanese vowel i or u is used between two voiceless consonants, namely k, p, s(sh), h(f), or t(ts), it is generally voiceless too. And being voiceless makes the vowel very soft and difficult to hear when spoken quickly, just as certain sounds are in English contractions—for example, “can’t” for “cannot.”
The voiceless vowels are underlined in the following examples.
hito (person)
kusuri (medicine)
shitsumon (question)
tsukue (desk)
pittari (exactly)
ongakuka (musician)
sushi (a Japanese food)
2. The final letter “u” in desu and -masu is usually voiceless also. Again, that makes it almost seem as though the vowel is silent, and in rapid speech it is omitted altogether.
| Okane desu. | “It’s money.” |
| Kōhii ga hoshii desu. | “I want coffee.” |
| Wakarimasu. | “I understand.” |
| Arigatō gozaimasu. | “Thank you very much.” |
Saying Double Consonant Sounds
Double consonants such as kk, pp, ss, or tt are pronounced with a slight pause between the first and second consonant sound, the same way as when the same sound occurs at the end of a word and beginning of the next word in English—as in “hot tea” or “red door.”
Pronounce the first consonant along with the preceding vowel, and then hesitate for a split second before pronouncing the second consonant so that two distinct syllables are formed; e.g.:
| gakkō | school | |
| kippu | ticket | |
| zasshi | magazine | |
| kitte | stamps | |
| matchi | matches, etc. |
Note that the double consonant form of “ch” is written “tch,” not “cch” as you might expect.
Tips for Learning New Words and Sentences
1. PRONOUNCING NEW WORDS
Japanese words, remember, are pronounced very clearly, one syllable at a time, with equal stress placed on each syllable.
Let’s divide the following words into syllables and then pronounce them distinctly. Read the word several times until you can say it smoothly.
| First say: | Then say: | … | |||
| niku (meat) | → | ni ku | → | niku | |
| shizuka(quiet) | → | shi zu ka | → | shizuka | |
| atatakai (warm) | → | a ta ta ka i | → | atatakai | |
| kyōdai (sibling) | → | kyo o da i | → | kyō dai | |
| → | kyōdai | ||||
| oyasumi nasai | → | o ya su mi na sa i | → | oyasumi nasai | |
| → | oyasuminasai (good night) |
To help you properly pronounce the consonant n (the final sound of the Gōjuonzu chart back on page 1) or the first letter of double consonants, you can consider it part of the preceding syllable. Try it with these words:
| First say: | Then say: | … | |||
| onna (woman) | → | on na | → | onna | |
| densha (electric train) | → | den sha | → | densha | |
| motto (more) | → | mot to | → | motto | |
| irasshaimase (welcome) | → | iras shai mase | → | irasshai mase | |
| → | irasshaimase |
In this book, when n falls before a vowel or y falls within a word, an apostrophe (’) will be used after n to help you know the correct syllable breaks. Because once again, if you pronounce a word inaccurately, sometimes you’ll accidentally be saying a different word.
| First say: | Then say: | |||
| kin’en (no smoking) | → | ki n e n | → | kin’en |
| kinen (memory) | → | ki ne n | → | kinen |
| ten’in (salesclerk) | → | te n i n | → | ten’in |
| kon’yaku (marriage engagement) | → | ko n ya ku | → | kon’yaku |
2. USING THE RIGHT PHRASING WHEN LEARNING NEW SENTENCES It is easier to speak and to listen—whether in Japanese or English—if you pronounce a sentence clearly with a few pauses. When you learn to pronounce a new sentence, pause just a little after its particles (such as wa, ga, o, ni, e, de, and kara) and its conjunctions (such as soshite). Notice where the pauses fall in these sentences:
Boku wa Amerikajin da.
I’m // an American.
Nihonjin wa ohashi de gohan o taberu.
Japanese people // eat // a meal // with chopsticks.
Koko kara totemo chikai.
It’s // very close // from here.
Obasan ni kurisumasu kādo o okutta.
I sent // the Christmas card // to my aunt.
Watashitachi wa resutoran de piza o tabeta. Soshite, terebi o kai ni itta.
We // had // pizza // at the restaurant // and we went // to buy // a TV set.
What Are Particles?
Particles in the Japanese language are always the same form and usually consist of one or two syllables, such as wa, ga, o, de, ni, no, to, and kara. They have no meaning by themselves. However, they indicate the topic (wa), subject (ga), object (o), etc., when they are used in the sentence. And also they sometimes work like English prepositions; for example, kara is “away from,” ni is “toward,” no is “of,” and de is “in.” They are placed after a noun or a sentence, and link words or sentences to each other and indicate a relationship between them.
EXAMPLES: Amerikajin to Nihonjin (American and Japanese) (To indicates “and”)
boku no tsukue (my desk)
Watashi wa onna. (I’m a woman.)
Practice
A. Divide the following words into syllables, as shown in the example.
| Example: mochiron (of course) | → | mo / chi / ro / n |
| 1) ikura (how much) | → | _________________________________ |
| 2) benri (convenience) | → | _________________________________ |
| 3) ryōshūsho (receipt) | → | _________________________________ |
| 4) saikin (lately) | → | _________________________________ |
| 5) aisukuriimu (ice cream) | → | _________________________________ |
| 6) kyōdai (sibling) | → | _________________________________ |
| 7) osake (rice wine) | → | _________________________________ |
| 8) totsuzen (suddenly) | → | _________________________________ |
B. Listen to the Japanese words of each group on the CD and circle A or B for the appropriate English words.
| 1) grandmother | A | B |
| 2) no | A | B |
| 3) husband | A | B |
| 4) teacher | A | B |
| 5) stamp | A | B |
| 6) hospital | A | B |
| 7) woman | A | B |
| 8) warehouse | A | B |
C. Listen to the words carefully and write them in rōmaji (Roman letters). They are said twice.
| 1) | _________________________________ |
| 2) | _________________________________ |
| 3) | _________________________________ |
| 4) | _________________________________ |
| 5) | _________________________________ |
| 6) | _________________________________ |
| 7) | _________________________________ |
| 8) | _________________________________ |
| 9) | _________________________________ |
| 10) | _________________________________ |
| 11) | _________________________________ |
| 12) | _________________________________ |
| 13) | _________________________________ |
| 14) | _________________________________ |
| 15) | _________________________________ |
| 16) | _________________________________ |
