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Writing Systems & Pronunciation

Hiragana, katakana, kanji overview, mora, pitch accent and pronunciation
長音 — long vowels
long vowels
おかあさん (okaasan)
Doubled/extended vowels change meaning and length
促音 っ — small tsu
small tsu (geminate)
kitte, gakkou
Small っ doubles the next consonant
ん — the moraic n
moraic n
n
ん counts as a full mora; assimilates to following sound
拗音の復習: きゃ ぎゃ
contracted sounds review
kya gya nya
Small ゃゅょ with i-row consonants
ピッチアクセント
pitch accent
pitch accent
Japanese uses high/low pitch, not stress: はし (chopsticks vs bridge)
カタカナ長音 ー
katakana long mark
koohii (コーヒー)
ー lengthens vowels in katakana
外来語のカタカナ
loanwords in katakana
terebi, pasokon
Foreign words written in katakana
漢字の音読み・訓読み
kanji on/kun readings
on'yomi / kun'yomi
Kanji have Chinese-derived (on) and native (kun) readings
ローマ字
romaji (Roman letters)
romaji
Latin-alphabet transcription systems (Hepburn etc.)
モーラとリズム
mora and rhythm
mora-timed
Japanese rhythm is based on equal-length morae