2.11. Hiragana for /N/, /Q/, long vowel mark


/N/:
HiraganaPhonemeRomanizationDescription
(n)/N/"n" audio
(see right)
Basically, the pronunciation of /N/ is "n" with one-syllable length. It is important to correctly pronounce the syllable following /N/. Modify /N/ if necessary.
If /N/ is followed by any vowel, /s/, /h/, /w/, or /y/, don't shut your mouth completely like "n". Keep your breath going out from both your nose and your mouth.
If /N/ is followed by /m/, /b/, or /p/, pronounce /N/ as "m".
If /N/ is followed by /k/ or /g/, pronounce /N/ as "n" in think.

The Romanization is "n" in most cases. If followed by "b", "p", or "m", the Romanization is "m". If followed by vowels or "y", the Romanization is "n'" or "n-" to avoid confusion with /n/ + vowels.

The following phrases are pronounced differently:
(ka)(ni) /ka ni/ "kani" = /ka/ + /ni/ (means crab), two syllables
(ka)(n)(i) /ka N i/ "kan'i" = /ka/ + /N/ + /i/ (means simplified), three syllables (Don't let your tongue stop the breath from your mouth)
(ka)(n)(ni) /ka' N ni/ "kan ni" = /ka/ + /N/ + /ni/ (means into a can), three syllables (/N/ is pronounced as "n")


/Q/:
HiraganaPhonemeRomanizationDescription
(small tu)/Q/(see right) Pronounce the next consonant longer than usual.
If the next consonant is a plosive such as "t" and "k", /Q/ is a breath stop with the mouth position to pronounce the next consonant.
If the next consonant is a fricative such as "s" and "sh", /Q/ is a continuous consonant.
Examples:
/ha Q te N/ = "hatten" (means developing), where "tte" is "te" preceded by one-syllable-length breath stop.
/ha Q sya/ = "hassha" (means launching), where "ssha" is "sha" preceded by one-syllable-length "sh".

This hiragana looks like the hiragana of (tu) /tu/ "tsu", but they differ in size.

The Romanization is duplicating the next alphabet. If followed by "ch", use "tch" instead of "cch".

Note for /N/ and /Q/:
Even though /N/ and /Q/ don't contain a vowel, they are treated as syllables in Japanese.
In Japanese keep all syllables the same length.


Long vowel mark:
HiraganaPhonemeRomanizationDescription
(long)either /a/, /i/, /u/, /e/, or /o/"^" (circumflex) Pronounce the vowel of the previous kana. For example, if this mark follows /ka/, its pronunciation is "a".
This mark is used only for imported words.


Hiragana examples:

Hiragana:(ni)(small tu)(po)(n)
Phonemes:niQpo'N
Romanization:Nippon
Meaning:Japan (noun*1)

*1: There is no grammatical difference between common nouns and proper nouns in Japanese, and I categorize it with other nouns.

Note: The word (ni)(small tu)(po)(n) /ni Q po' N/ "Nippon" is the official name of Japan in Japanese, but another word (ni)(ho)(n) /ni ho' N/ "Nihon" is more commonly used in colloquial Japanese.

Hiragana:(si)(n)(bu)(n)
Phonemes:siNbuN
Romanization:shimbun
Meaning:newspaper (noun)

Hiragana:(ha)(n)(za)(i)
Phonemes:haNzai
Romanization:hanzai
Meaning:crime (noun)

Hiragana:(ge)(n)(i)(n)
Phonemes:geNiN
Romanization:gen'in
Meaning:cause (noun)

Hiragana:(si)(small tu)(pa)(i)
Phonemes:siQpai
Romanization:shippai
Meaning:failure (noun)

Hiragana:(ro)(small tu)(ko)(tu)
Phonemes:roQkotu
Romanization:rokkotsu
Meaning:rib (noun)

Note: The hiragana for /tu/ and the hiragana for /Q/ are different in size.

Hiragana:(ko)(small tu)(ka)(i)
Phonemes:koQkai
Romanization:kokkai
Meaning:national parliament (noun)

Hiragana:(ra)(long)(me)(n)
Phonemes:ra'ameN
Romanization:men
Meaning:Chinese soup noodle (noun)

Hiragana:(ka)(re)(long)
Phonemes:karee
Romanization:ka
Meaning:curry, curry and rice (noun)

For your interest: Chinese soup noodles and curry and rice are the most popular foods in Japan. Both are so Japanized that Chinese and Indians think they are Japanese foods.



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