2.2. Hiragana for /k/, /g/ + vowels


/k/ + vowels:
HiraganaPhonemeRomanizationDescription
(ka)/ka/"ka" audio English "k" + Japanese "a".
(ki)/ki/"ki" audio English "k" + Japanese "i".
(ku)/ku/"ku" audio English "k" + Japanese "u".
(ke)/ke/"ke" audio English "k" + Japanese "e".
(ko)/ko/"ko" audio English "k" + Japanese "o".


/g/ + vowels:
HiraganaPhonemeRomanizationDescription
(ga)/ga/"ga" audio English "g" + Japanese "a".
(gi)/gi/"gi" audio English "g" + Japanese "i".
(gu)/gu/"gu" audio English "g" + Japanese "u".
(ge)/ge/"ge" audio English "g" + Japanese "e".
(go)/go/"go" audio English "g" + Japanese "o".

As you see, the double points at the right top of hiragana mean they have a voiced consonant. This mark is called a voiced sound mark ((da)(ku)(te)(n) /da ku te N/ "dakuten" in Japanese).

In the Northeastern Japan dialect, the /g/ in the middle of words is pronounced as "ng", which is the same sound as "ng" in singer. You don't have to pronounce the /g/ as "ng" at all.


Hiragana examples:

Hiragana:(ki)(ku)
Phonemes:kiku
Romanization:kiku
Meaning:chrysanthemum (noun)

For your interest: The chrysanthemum is the symbol flower of the emperor of Japan.

Hiragana:(ke)(i)(ka)(ku)
Phonemes:keikaku
Romanization:keikaku
Meaning:plan (noun)

Note: The phoneme /e i/ is often pronounced as "ee" in colloquial Japanese if quickly spoken, so /ke i/ becomes "kee", /se i/ becomes "see", etc. This word is often pronounced as "keekaku" instead of "keikaku" in colloquial Japanese. Note that the "ee" is a duplication of Japanese "e", not the English "ee" in meet.


Hiragana:(ga)(ka)
Phonemes:gaka
Romanization:gaka
Meaning:painting artist (noun)

Hiragana:(ko)(u)(ko)(u)
Phonemes:koukou
Romanization:
Meaning:high school (noun)

Note: Remember /o u/ is pronounced as "oo" in colloquial Japanese and a circumflex is used for consecutive vowels.

Hiragana:(ko)(u)(go)(u)
Phonemes:kougo'u
Romanization:
Meaning:empress consort (noun)

Hiragana:(ka)(gi)
Phonemes:kagi'
Romanization:kagi
Meaning:key (noun)



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