Japanese

Memorize the Hiragana (Gojuon-zu) Alphabet's Pronunciation and Forms Key Front: Hiragana letter in type format Back: Phonetic Pronunciation (Romaji Spelling) & Notes Notes: - Pronunciation of [r] sound is different from the one in English. - In English, tip of your tongue is rolled back to pronounce [r], and it is placed behind the upper teeth for [l] sound. - Japanese [r] is in the middle of these two. Tip of your tongue touches the roof of mouth.

Learn and memorize all of the characters and associating sounds within the Hiragana alphabet Key(Gojuon-zu & Yoon) Front: Hiragana letter in type format Back: Romaji Spelling & Notes Key(Dakuon & Handakuon) Front: Hiragana letter in type format Back: Romaji Spelling, (Original Ramaji Spelling) & Notes

Key Front: Hiragana letter in type format Back: Romaji Spelling, (Original Romaji Spelling) & Notes Notes - Letters with two small dots are called Dakuon. It is the voiced sound of か, さ, た, は-row syllables. - Letters with a small circle are called Handakuon. It is considered to be the half-voiced sound of は-row syllables. - The pronunciation of じ and ぢ, ず and づ are the same. Dakuon k become g s become z t become d h become b sh and ch become j ts become z Handakuon h become p

Learn and memorize the rules of spelling and words spelled in Hiragana Key Front: Word in Hiragana Back: Word in Romaji & Definition - In addition to the five vowels あ, い, う, え and お, there are five long vowels. - The length of long vowels should be double (two letters long). - Double vowel [ei] often becomes [ē]. - Double vowel [ou] often becomes [ō]. - Long vowel has to be clearly longer than the standard (short) vowel. Otherwise it can be taken as a different word.

Key Front: Japanese Punctuation Mark Back: English Keystroke required for input & meaning - Punctuation marks [、] and [。] have the similar function as English comma and period. - Quotation marks are [「] (beginning) and [」] (end). - [？] and [！] are commonly used. The keystrokes are the same as English. - [・] is used between Katakana words for ease of reading. When you write your name, put this mark between the first and the family names.

Notes - Yōon is a combination of い-column letters (き, し, ち, に, ひ, み, り, ぎ, じ, ぢ, び, ぴ) and ゃ, ゅ, ょ (small や ゆ よ). - Yōon is described by i-column letters plus small や, ゆ or よ. For example, き + ゃ = きゃ [kya]. - Pronunciation of じゃ, じゅ, じょ and ぢゃ, ぢゅ, ぢょ are the same. - Two letters (1 full + 1 small) form one syllable. It should be pronounced for one syllable long (one letter long). - The size should be clearly smaller than standard letters. - The placement should be lower than the middle.

Key(う゛) Front: Letter in type format Back: Romaji Spelling Notes - Sokuon is a pause (no sound) between two syllables. - Sokuon is indicated by っ (small tsu). But you don't pronounce it. - The size should be clearly smaller. - The placement should be lower than the middle. Pronunciation (Example: きっぷ) 1. Right after the sound き, your mouth should be ready for the next sound ぷ (closed lips). 2. Hold your breath for one letter long. 3. Then pronounce the sound ぷ.

- Katakana is used mostly for foreign loan words. - Letters ヂ, ヅ, ヲ, ヂャ, ヂュ, and ヂョ are rarely used - Long vowels are indicated with ー(horizontal bar). - Pronunciation of Katakana letters are exactly the same as the corresponding Hiragana letters.

- These additional letters are invented in the modern era to describe the sounds of foreign languages. - ァ, ィ, ゥ, ェ and ォ (small ア イ ウ エ オ) are attached after particular letters. - ヴ is used for [v] sound. But not always the case. - In general, [v] is taken to be [b] sound. For example, Victoria is ビクトリア in Japanese.