Ba Bi Bu Be Bo

Katakana 2

Chapter 4 · Ba Bi Bu Be Bo

🌸 The Dakuten on the H Row — バビブベボ

The dakuten on the H row turns h into b: バビブベボ (ba bi bu be bo). This one row gives you ビール (beer), バス (bus), ボール (ball) and テレビ (TV), a very practical chapter. Romaji is shown for everything.

Plain	With ゛	Sound before	Sound now
ハ	バ	ha	ba
ヒ	ビ	hi	bi
フ	ブ	fu	bu
ヘ	ベ	he	be
ホ	ボ	ho	bo

	a	i	u	e	o
h	ハ	ヒ	フ	ヘ	ホ
b (h + ゛)	バ	ビ	ブ	ベ	ボ

All five highlighted characters are today's: the whole B row in one chapter. The little circle ゜ (P row) is next chapter.

✨ Five New Characters — バビブベボ

バ

like "ba" in bar ("bah")

4 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a bat with two wings flapping: ハ with two marks. Hiragana twin: ば.

ビ

like "bee", short ("bee")

4 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a bee buzzing: ヒ with two marks. Hiragana twin: び.

ブ

like "boo" ("boo")

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a ghost going boo: フ with two marks. Hiragana twin: ぶ.

ベ

like "be" in bet ("beh")

3 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a beach hill with two beach balls: ヘ with two marks. Hiragana twin: べ.

ボ

like "bo" in boat, short ("boh")

6 strokes · stroke order ▸

Memory hook: a boat with two flags: ホ with two marks. Hiragana twin: ぼ.

Short or Long? — ビル versus ビール Katakana's long-vowel mark ー matters. ビル (biru) is a building (from building), but ビール (bīru) is beer. Ask for a ビル and you'll get a very odd look. Always check for ー.

Look-Alikes: ボ and ポ, バ and パ Today's marks are two dots (゛). Next chapter's mark is a little circle (゜), which turns the same characters into パピプペポ. Check carefully: ボ (bo) has two dots, ポ (po) has a circle.

📖 Read It — New Words

Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji and the English word it comes from.

#	Word	Romaji	English	Note
1	ビール	bīru	beer	bi-i-ru: not ビル!
2	バス	basu	bus	ba-su
3	ボール	bōru	ball	bo-o-ru
4	ブーツ	būtsu	boots	bu-u-tsu
5	ベル	beru	bell	be-ru
6	テレビ	terebi	television	te-re-bi: shortened from television
7	ズボン	zubon	trousers	zu-bo-n: from French, not English
8	バナナ	banana	banana	ba-na-na
9	ボタン	botan	button	bo-ta-n
10	バター	batā	butter	ba-ta-a

Real Japanese Tip — バス and the Journey バス is the bus, and a bus stop is a バスてい (basutei), with て and い from hiragana. Japanese often mixes katakana and other scripts in one word, which is why you learned all three.

ズボン and テレビ: Borrowed and Shortened ズボン comes from the French word jupon, not English, a reminder that katakana covers all foreign words. テレビ is television chopped down to its first and last sounds, a very common Japanese way of shortening loanwords.

Review: Words from Chapter 3 ドア (door) · デート (date) · ダンス (dance) · ドラマ (drama) · ドル (dollar) · データ (data).

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Read aloud: バ · ビ · ブ · ベ · ボ

Show answer

ba · bi · bu · be · bo

2. Read aloud and translate: ビール · バス · ボール

Show answer

bīru (beer) · basu (bus) · bōru (ball)

3. What is the difference between ビル and ビール?

Show answer

ビル (biru) is a building; ビール (bīru) is beer. The long-vowel mark ー changes the word.

4. Read aloud and translate: テレビ · ズボン · ボタン

Show answer

terebi (TV) · zubon (trousers) · botan (button)

5. Read aloud and translate: ブーツ · バナナ · バター

Show answer

būtsu (boots) · banana (banana) · batā (butter)

6. Write in katakana: bīru · basu · terebi (check the stroke order).

Show answer

ビール · バス · テレビ

Coming Up in Chapter 5 The little circle ゜ on the H row: パピプペポ (pa pi pu pe po). You'll be able to read パン (bread), ペン (pen), ピアノ (piano) and スーパー (supermarket).

Ba Bi Bu Be Bo

🌸 The Dakuten on the H Row — バ ビ ブ ベ ボ

✨ Five New Characters — バ ビ ブ ベ ボ

📖 Read It — New Words

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

🌸 The Dakuten on the H Row — バビブベボ

✨ Five New Characters — バビブベボ