I can hear and write the difference between きよ and きょ and between a short and a long mora, without mixing up “hospital” and “hair salon”, and type such words on a keyboard.
A small character is still one mora
A small character is still one mora
After a character with [i] — き, し, ち, に, ひ, み, り, and their versions with the two strokes — a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ can follow. The two are read together as one mora, a combined sound (yōon): きょ (kyo) is one mora, never “kee-OH”; きよ (kiyo) is two.
Only the size of the character shows the difference, yet it changes the whole word: びょういん is “hospital”, びよういん is “hair salon”. This is the key written pair of the level: if you hear it and write it correctly, you've understood it.
There are thirty-three combined sounds: from きゃ to りょ, plus the rows with the two strokes (ぎゃ, じゃ, びゃ) and with the small circle (ぴゃ). The combinations ぢゃ, ぢゅ, ぢょ are very rare; recognizing them is enough.
Type a combined sound as one romaji combination: kyo → きょ, sha (or sya) → しゃ, ju (or zyu) → じゅ, gyu → ぎゅ. If you type it character by character (ki + yo), you get きよ: two moras and a different word. A small character on its own is typed with x: xya → ゃ, xyu → ゅ, xyo → ょ.
Common mistakes:
• NOT two moras in a combined sound — it takes exactly one.
• NOT びよういん when you mean hospital: the size of the character changes the word.
• NOT typing a combined sound in parts, ki + yo.
Small character, one mora
The size of a character changes the number of moras and the word itself.
| Written form | How many moras | What it is | How to type it |
|---|---|---|---|
| きょ | 1 | one combined sound (yōon) | kyo |
| きよ | 2 | two separate moras | kiyo |
| びょういん | 4 | hospital | byouin |
| びよういん | 5 | hair salon | biyouin |
Lesson notes
A small character is still one mora
After a character with [i] — き, し, ち, に, ひ, み, り, and their versions with the two strokes — a small ゃ, ゅ, or ょ can follow. The two are read together as one mora, a combined sound (yōon): きょ (kyo) is one mora, never “kee-OH”; きよ (kiyo) is two.
Only the size of the character shows the difference, yet it changes the whole word: びょういん is “hospital”, びよういん is “hair salon”. This is the key written pair of the level: if you hear it and write it correctly, you've understood it.
There are thirty-three combined sounds: from きゃ to りょ, plus the rows with the two strokes (ぎゃ, じゃ, びゃ) and with the small circle (ぴゃ). The combinations ぢゃ, ぢゅ, ぢょ are very rare; recognizing them is enough.
Type a combined sound as one romaji combination: kyo → きょ, sha (or sya) → しゃ, ju (or zyu) → じゅ, gyu → ぎゅ. If you type it character by character (ki + yo), you get きよ: two moras and a different word. A small character on its own is typed with x: xya → ゃ, xyu → ゅ, xyo → ょ.
Common mistakes:
• NOT two moras in a combined sound — it takes exactly one.
• NOT びよういん when you mean hospital: the size of the character changes the word.
• NOT typing a combined sound in parts, ki + yo.
The long-vowel mora and how it's written
Vowel length is a mora of its own, not just a “drawn-out vowel”: おばさん (“aunt”) has four moras, おばあさん (“grandmother”) has five. In English, vowel length doesn't change a word; in Japanese it does.
How length is written: after a character with [o], う (とうきょう, こうえん); after a character with [e], い (せんせい — “teacher”, えいが — “movie”). This う only lengthens the o: it is never the “ow” of “cow”. After [a], [i], [ɯ], the vowel is simply repeated: ああ, いい, うう — くうこう.
A short closed list of words writes length with お and え; learn them whole: おおきい (“big”), とおい (“far”), こおり (“ice”), とお (“ten”), おねえさん (“older sister”).
To type, spell what the kana spells: toukyou (the English spelling Tokyo hides both long vowels), kouen, sensei, koori, ookii. Never type a macron: ōkii gives おうきい, not おおきい. As particles, は, へ, を are still typed ha, he, wo.
Common mistakes:
• NOT こうり for ice — it's a word from the list: こおり.
• NOT sensee when typing — after [e], length is written with い.
• NOT とうきょう as “TOH-kee-oh” — four even moras: と・う・きょ・う.