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F
irst of all, we should study from the basic way, which is letter. Letter in
Japanese language consists of Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji and Roumaji.
Hiragana and Katakana are the original letter which made by Japanese
people, while kanji comes from China. And the last is an implementation to
alphabetical. We will use all of them to learn Japanese language.

Sound list in Japanese language (Roumaji-type)

Basic sound Development sound
a i u e o
k ka ki ku ke ko > > ga gi gu ge go
s sa sh su se so > > za ji zu ze zo
i
t ta ch ts te to > > da ji du de do
i u
n na ni nu ne no
h ha hi fu he ho >> > ba bi bu be bo
m m mi m m mo >> pa pi pu pe po
a u e
y ya - yu - yo

r ra ri ru re ro

w wa wo/o

Solidarity sound

1. ki/gi + ya/yu/ yo

 ki + ya/yu/yo >>> kya,kyu,kyo

 gi + ya/yu/yo >>> gya,gyu,gyo

2. shi/ji + ya/yu/yo

 shi + ya/yu/yo >>> sha,shu,sho

 ji + ya/yu/yo >>> ja,ju jo

3. chi + ya/yu/yo >>> cha,chu,cho

4. ni + ya/yu/yo >>> nya,nyu,nyo

5. hi/bi/pi + ya/yu/yo

 hi + ya/yu/yo >>> hya,hyu,hyo

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 bi + ya/yu/yo >>> bya,byu,byo

 pi + ya/yu/yo >>> pya,pyu,pyo

Sound list in Japanese language (Hiragana-type)

Basic sound Development sound
a i u e o
あ い う え お
k Ka Ki Ku Ke Ko > > Ga Gi Gu Ge Go
か き く け こ が ぎ ぐ げ ご
s Sa Sh Su Se So > > Za Ji Zu Ze Zo
さ i す せ そ ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ
し
t Ta Ch Tsu Te To > > Da Ji Du De Do
た i つ て と だ ぢ づ で ど
ち
n Na Ni Nu Ne No
な に ぬ ね の
h Ha Hi Fu He Ho >> > Ba Bi Bu Be Bo
は ひ ふ へ ほ ば び ぶ べ ぼ
m Ma Mi Mu Me Mo >> Pa Pi Pu Pe Po
ま み む め も ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ
y Ya - Yu - Yo
や ゆ よ
r Ra Ri Ru Re Ro
ら り る れ ろ
w Wa wo/o
わ を
N
ん

Solidarity sound

1. ki/gi + ya/yu/ yo

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 ki + ya/yu/yo >>> きゃ、きゅ、きょ

 gi + ya/yu/yo >>> ぎゃ、ぎゅ、ぎょ

2. shi/ji + ya/yu/yo

 shi + ya/yu/yo >>> しゃ、しゅ、しょ

 ji + ya/yu/yo >>> じゃ、じゅ、じょ

3. chi + ya/yu/yo >>> ちゃ、ちゅ、ちょ

4. ni + ya/yu/yo >>> にゃ、にゅ、にょ

5. hi/bi/pi + ya/yu/yo

 hi + ya/yu/yo >>> ひゃ、ひゅ、ひょ

 bi + ya/yu/yo >>> びゃ、びゅ、びょ

 pi + ya/yu/yo >>> ぴゃ、ぴゅ、ぴょ

Note: When ki/gi/others join with ya/yu/yo, ya/yu/yo is written smaller than the first letter

Sound list in Japanese language (Katakana-type)

Basic sound Development sound
A I U E O
ア イ ウ エ オ
k Ka Ki Ku Ke Ko > > Ga Gi Gu Ge Go
カ キ ク ケ コ ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ
s sa Sh Su Se So > > Za Ji Zu Ze Zo
i ス セ ソ ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ
シ
t Ta Ch Ts Te To > > Da De Do
タ i u テ ト ダ デ ド
チ ツ
n Na Ni Nu Ne No
ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ
h Ha Hi Fu He Ho >> > Ba Bi Bu Be Bo
ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ バ ビ ブ ベ ボ
m M Mi Mu Me Mo >> Pa Pi Pu Pe Po
a ミ ム メ モ パ ピ プ ペ ポ
マ
y Ya - Yu - Yo
ヤ ユ ヨ
r Ra Ri Ru Re Ro
ラ リ ル レ ロ

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w W wo/o
a ヲ
ワ
N
ン
Solidarity sound

1. ki/gi + ya/yu/ yo

 ki + ya/yu/yo >>> キャ、キュ、キョ

 gi + ya/yu/yo >>> ギャ、ギュ、ギョ

2. shi/ji + ya/yu/yo

 shi + ya/yu/yo >>> シャ、シュ、ショ

 ji + ya/yu/yo >>> ジャ。ジュ、ジョ

3. chi + ya/yu/yo >>> チャ、チュ、チョ

4. ni + ya/yu/yo >>> ニャ、ニュ、ニョ

5. hi/bi/pi + ya/yu/yo

 hi + ya/yu/yo >>> ヒャ、ヒュ、ヒョ

 bi + ya/yu/yo >>> ビャ、ビュ、ビョ

 pi + ya/yu/yo >>> ピャ、ピュ、ピョ

There are katakana letters which are not original Japanese sounds, but are needed for
use in loan words. They are:

 Tsa ツァ  dyu ヂュ  je ジェ

 Fa ファ  we ウェ  wo ウォ

 Wi ウィ  she シェ  tso ツォ

 Ti ティ  che チェ  fo フォ

 Tu トゥ  tse ツェ  fi フィ

 Du ドゥ  fe フェ  di ティ

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Important Characteristic

1. “e” in e, ke, ge, se, ze, te, de, ne, he, be, pe, me, re is sounded
similar to e in enter

2. “n” have 3 special characteristic in the reading way :

a. Before m, b, p sound m

Example: えんぴつ　e-n-pi-tsu /empitsu/ >> pencil

b. Before n, t, d, z sound n

Example: 　せんたく se-n-ta-ku /sentaku/ >> choice

c. Before k, g sound ng like in starting and sound ng at the

end

Example: ぎんこう　gi-n-ko-u /gingkou/ >> bank

3. Plosive double (Double Consonant sound).

Example: にっき　ni-kki /nikki/ >> diary

きって　ki-tte /kitte/ >> stamp

4. Solidarity sound

Example: びょ ういん　byo-u-i-n /byōin/ hospital

5. Hiragana’s writing way

a. Long vowel sound (ā,ii,ū,ē,ō)

Short Short Meaning Long Long Meaning

vowel Vowel vowel Vowel
Writing Writing
way way

obasan おばさん Aunt obāsan おばあさ grandmot

ん her

ojisan おじさん Uncle ojiisan おじいさ grandfath

ん er

Ō sound have two way:

 1) Ō is ou (generally / almost). Ex: ginkō gi-n-ko-u ぎ
んこう 　>> bank

2) Ō is oo (Exception). Ex: ōkii o-o-ki-i 　おおきい

>> big

b. Plosive double is written by tsu っ in smaller letter to others

to show double consonant.

Example: nikki ni-k-ki にっき >> diary

6. Katakana’s writing way

a. Long vowel sound (ā,ii,ū,ē,ō) is marked with sign `－’

Example: Gurūpu gu-ru-u-pu グループ >> group

b. Plosive double is written by tsu ッ　in smaller letter to others

to show double consonant.

Example: Chekku che-k-ku チェック　>> check