I can read aloud any word in plain hiragana, give ん its full beat, and read は, へ, and を correctly when they're used as particles.
Twenty-one more characters — and three of them are read differently
Twenty-one more characters — and three of them are read differently
The remaining rows: は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ, the ま row, the や row (や, ゆ, よ), the ら row, and the わ row. With them you can read any word in plain hiragana (no extra marks).
ふ [ɸɯ] (fu) is neither English f nor a plain h: breathe out between almost-closed lips, with the teeth off the lip. The ら row [ɾa] is one quick tap of the tongue tip, like the tt in American “better”: neither English r nor a clear l.
ん is a mora of its own, not a final n: ほん is two moras, にほん three, and ん lasts as long as any other character. Its sound adapts to the next one: [n] before [t] and [d], [m] before [b] and [p] (さんぽ, “a walk”; ぽ comes in lesson 3), a nasal [ɴ] at the end of a word. Just don't swallow it.
As particles, three characters are read differently: は sounds like わ (wa), へ like え (e), を like お (o). Sentences come in module 1, but you need this rule now, or the very first 「わたしは」 (“I …”) comes out wrong.
を is used only as a particle: it never appears inside words, where the sound [o] is written お. The や row has only three characters; the わ row has two in use: わ and を.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [f] in ふね — the teeth don't touch the lip.
• NOT the English r [ɹ] or a clear l in とり — just one tap.
• NOT にほ with the last mora swallowed — にほん has three moras.
• NOT は as a particle read as in はな.
• NOT を inside an ordinary word.
Three characters read differently as particles
Written as usual, but read differently when used as a particle.
| Character | In a word | As a particle | Example word |
|---|---|---|---|
| は | [ha] | sounds like わ (wa) | はな (flower) |
| へ | [he] | sounds like え (e) | へや (room) |
| を | — | sounds like お (o) | never found inside words |
How many moras in a word
One character, one mora — and every mora is the same length.
| Written form | How many moras | The rhythm |
|---|---|---|
| さかな | 3 | three equal beats |
| すいか | 3 | い is a mora of its own, not a glide |
| ねこ | 2 | both moras are equal |
| せかい | 3 | the final い isn't swallowed |
| にほん | 3 | ん is a full mora |
| ほん | 2 | not one beat, like English “hone” |
Lesson notes
Twenty-one more characters — and three of them are read differently
The remaining rows: は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ, the ま row, the や row (や, ゆ, よ), the ら row, and the わ row. With them you can read any word in plain hiragana (no extra marks).
ふ [ɸɯ] (fu) is neither English f nor a plain h: breathe out between almost-closed lips, with the teeth off the lip. The ら row [ɾa] is one quick tap of the tongue tip, like the tt in American “better”: neither English r nor a clear l.
ん is a mora of its own, not a final n: ほん is two moras, にほん three, and ん lasts as long as any other character. Its sound adapts to the next one: [n] before [t] and [d], [m] before [b] and [p] (さんぽ, “a walk”; ぽ comes in lesson 3), a nasal [ɴ] at the end of a word. Just don't swallow it.
As particles, three characters are read differently: は sounds like わ (wa), へ like え (e), を like お (o). Sentences come in module 1, but you need this rule now, or the very first 「わたしは」 (“I …”) comes out wrong.
を is used only as a particle: it never appears inside words, where the sound [o] is written お. The や row has only three characters; the わ row has two in use: わ and を.
Common mistakes:
• NOT [f] in ふね — the teeth don't touch the lip.
• NOT the English r [ɹ] or a clear l in とり — just one tap.
• NOT にほ with the last mora swallowed — にほん has three moras.
• NOT は as a particle read as in はな.
• NOT を inside an ordinary word.