Sounds and Writing
Japanese Grammar 1
Chapter 2 · Sounds and Writing
🔊 Sounds and Writing — おとと もじ
This is the only sound chapter in the course, so it is a compact map rather than a second kana course. It re-sorts what Hiragana 1-3 and Katakana 1-2 taught you, one symbol at a time, into the few ideas grammar depends on: the mora (the beat of Japanese), long vowels, the small っ, voiced marks, combined sounds, and how the three scripts share a sentence. Every later chapter assumes you have these.
1. The mora: counting the beat
English counts syllables and stresses some of them. Japanese gives every beat equal time. ん (the nasal) and the small っ each get a full beat, and a long vowel gets two.
| Word | Say it | Beats | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| さくら | sakura | 3 | sa · ku · ra |
| にほん | nihon | 3 | ni · ho · n |
| きって | kitte | 3 | ki · t · te |
| とうきょう | Tōkyō | 4 | to · u · kyo · u |
| がっこう | gakkō | 4 | ga · k · ko · u |
2. Long vowels
A long vowel is a vowel held for two beats. In hiragana it is written by adding a vowel kana. The addition depends on the vowel:
| Long vowel | Written with | Example | Say it |
|---|---|---|---|
| aa | あ | おかあさん (mother) | okāsan |
| ii | い | おにいさん (older brother) | onīsan |
| uu | う | くうき (air) | kūki |
| ee | え (or い) | おねえさん (older sister), せんせい (teacher) | onēsan, sensei |
| oo | う (or お) | ありがとう (thank you), おおきい (big) | arigatō, ōkii |
Katakana shows every long vowel with the bar ー: コーヒー kōhī (coffee), ケーキ kēki (cake).
Long and short vowels make different words, so length matters:
| Short | Long |
|---|---|
| おばさん obasan aunt | おばあさん obāsan grandmother |
| おじさん ojisan uncle | おじいさん ojīsan grandfather |
| ビル biru building | ビール bīru beer |
| ゆき yuki snow | ゆうき yūki courage |
3. The small っ: a held consonant
A small っ is a one-beat pause that doubles the consonant after it. In romaji it appears as the consonant written twice. It occurs only before the sounds k, s, t, p (and their variants sh, ch, ts).
| Without っ | With っ |
|---|---|
| きて kite (come!) | きって kitte (stamp) |
| さか saka (slope) | さっか sakka (writer) |
| おと oto (sound) | おっと otto (husband) |
| はか haka (grave) | はっか hakka (mint) |
Other everyday examples: ざっし zasshi (magazine), ちょっと chotto (a little), にっぽん Nippon (Japan, the formal reading). To say the double consonant, hold the mouth in position for a full beat, then release: kit-te.
4. Voiced and half-voiced marks
Two small marks change a kana's consonant. The dakuten ゛ (two dots) voices it; the handakuten ゜ (a circle) is used only on the は-row.
| Plain | With ゛ | With ゜ |
|---|---|---|
| か ka · き ki · く ku · け ke · こ ko | が ga · ぎ gi · ぐ gu · げ ge · ご go | — |
| さ sa · し shi · す su · せ se · そ so | ざ za · じ ji · ず zu · ぜ ze · ぞ zo | — |
| た ta · ち chi · つ tsu · て te · と to | だ da · ぢ ji · づ zu · で de · ど do | — |
| は ha · ひ hi · ふ fu · へ he · ほ ho | ば ba · び bi · ぶ bu · べ be · ぼ bo | ぱ pa · ぴ pi · ぷ pu · ぺ pe · ぽ po |
Two rare kana, ぢ and づ, sound the same as じ and ず and appear only in a few words (はなぢ nosebleed, つづく to continue). In ordinary writing じ and ず are used.
5. Combined sounds
A kana of the -i column followed by a small ゃ ゅ ょ makes a single beat with a y glide. Write the small kana at half size.
| +ゃ (ya) | +ゅ (yu) | +ょ (yo) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| き | きゃ kya | きゅ kyu | きょ kyo |
| し | しゃ sha | しゅ shu | しょ sho |
| ち | ちゃ cha | ちゅ chu | ちょ cho |
| に | にゃ nya | にゅ nyu | にょ nyo |
| ひ | ひゃ hya | ひゅ hyu | ひょ hyo |
| み | みゃ mya | みゅ myu | みょ myo |
| り | りゃ rya | りゅ ryu | りょ ryo |
| ぎ · じ · び · ぴ | ぎゃ じゃ びゃ ぴゃ gya ja bya pya | ぎゅ じゅ びゅ ぴゅ gyu ju byu pyu | ぎょ じょ びょ ぴょ gyo jo byo pyo |
The size of the small kana is the whole difference between one beat and two:
| Two beats (full size) | One beat (small ゃゅょ) |
|---|---|
| びよういん biyōin (beauty salon: bi · yo · u · i · n) | びょういん byōin (hospital: byo · u · i · n) |
| りよう riyō (use) | りょう ryō (dormitory; a quantity) |
Everyday examples: きょう kyō (today), しゅみ shumi (hobby), りょこう ryokō (travel), ひゃく hyaku (100), おちゃ ocha (tea).
6. Three scripts, one sentence
A normal Japanese sentence mixes three scripts, each with a job:
| Script | Used for | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Hiragana | grammar words (particles), verb and adjective endings, native words without kanji | は · を · ます · です · から |
| Katakana | loanwords, foreign names, sounds, emphasis | コーヒー · テレビ · アンナ |
| Kanji | the core of nouns, verbs and adjectives: the meaning part | 私 · 食 · 日本 |
Put together: わたしは コーヒーを のみます。 shows hiragana and katakana. With the kanji it becomes 私は コーヒーを 飲みます。 In this course kanji appear in brackets after the kana (わたし(私), のみます(飲みます)), so you can learn to recognise them gradually; once the kanji courses have taught a character, it will appear on its own with its reading in brackets.
7. Pitch accent, in outline
Japanese words carry a pitch pattern: some beats are high, some low, and the pattern is part of the word. It is not stress (loudness), and it differs by region. In standard (Tokyo) speech, the first two beats always differ in pitch, and once the pitch drops in a word it does not rise again. A few pairs show why it matters:
| Word | Pitch | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| あめ ame | high · low | rain (雨) |
| あめ ame | low · high | candy (飴) |
| はし hashi | high · low | chopsticks (箸) |
| はし hashi | low · high | bridge (橋) |
You do not need to master pitch now: context removes most confusion, and a Japanese listener will understand you without it. A good habit is to listen for it and copy the pattern of words you learn, especially from a dictionary with audio or from the speakers in your Japanese Basic Conversation courses.
🗣️ In Use — つかいかた
Pairs that only differ in length. Listen to the beats.
① Grandmother or aunt?
② Building or beer?
③ Hospital or beauty salon?
📋 Quick Reference
| Feature | How it is written | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Mora (beat) | one kana = one beat | にほん ni-ho-n (3) |
| Long vowel | add あ い う え (お) or ー | おかあさん · コーヒー |
| Doubled consonant | small っ before k s t p | きって · ざっし |
| Voiced sound | ゛ | か → が |
| P-sound | ゜ on the は-row | は → ぱ |
| Combined sound | small ゃ ゅ ょ | きょう · りょこう |
| Particle spellings | は=wa, を=o, へ=e | わたしは · ほんを · がっこうへ |
| Scripts | hiragana grammar, katakana loanwords, kanji meaning | 私は コーヒーを 飲みます |
✍️ Practice — れんしゅう
Try each one, then click to check.
1. How many beats are in がっこう?
Show answer
4: ga · k · ko · u. The small っ and the long う each count as a beat.
2. What is the difference between おじさん and おじいさん?
Show answer
Uncle (ojisan) against grandfather (ojīsan); the long ī changes the word.
3. How is a long vowel written in katakana?
Show answer
With the bar ー: コーヒー, ケーキ.
4. Read aloud and give the meaning: きて and きって.
Show answer
kite = come!; kitte = stamp (with a held "t").
5. Add the mark: は → ? (b-sound) and ? (p-sound).
Show answer
ば (with ゛) and ぱ (with ゜).
6. How many beats: びょういん and びよういん?
Show answer
4 (byo · u · i · n) against 5 (bi · yo · u · i · n).
7. Write in hiragana: "today" (kyō) and "hobby" (shumi).
Show answer
きょう and しゅみ.
8. Which script would you use for coffee, which for the ending of tabemasu, and which for the meaning part of eat?
Show answer
Katakana (コーヒー); hiragana (ます); kanji (食 in 食べます).
9. How are the particles は, を and へ pronounced?
Show answer
wa, o and e. (Inside words, は is still ha, as in はな.)
10. True or false: pitch accent is the same thing as English stress.
Show answer
False. Pitch accent is a high/low pattern of the beats, not extra loudness, and it differs by region.