Professional Documents
Culture Documents
1. Hiragana (phonetic sounds) are basically used for particles, words and parts
of words.
2. Katakana (phonetic sounds) are basically used for foreign/loan words.
3. Kanji (Chinese characters) are used for the stem of words and convey the
meaning as well as sound.
1
Meguro Language Center
Roma-ji, Hiragana and Katakana
A I U E O
- a i u e o
K ka k ku ke ko
S sa sh su se so
T ta ch tsu te to
N na n nu ne no
H ha h fu he ho
M ma m mu me mo
Y ya yu yo
R ra ri ru re ro
W wa o
- n,m
n before b, m and p becomes m wichi is pronounced like m in sample.
n m
ga gi gu ge go
za ji zu ze zo
da ji zu de do
ba b bu be bo
P pa p pu pe po
2
Meguro Language Center
Printing
a
i
u
ka
ki
ku
ke
ko
3
Meguro Language Center
Simillar
Hiragana
sa
shi
su
se
so
OK
[QUIZ]
ta
chi
tsu
te
to
[QUIZ]
4
Meguro Language Center
na
ni
nu
ne
no
[QUIZ]
ha
*wa
hi
fu
he
ho
5
Meguro Language Center
ma
mi
mu
me
mo
[QUIZ]
ya
yu
yo
[QUIZ]
2. yuki (snow)
Note that u and o are represented by adding .
1. yumei (famous) 3. kino (yesterday)
2. yofuku (Western clothes) 4. kuko (airport)
6
Meguro Language Center
ra
ri
ru
re
ro
wa
particle
n, m
[QUIZ] Note that the particle O is represented by , not
ke/ha/ho wa/re/ne
7
Meguro Language Center
ga [QUIZ]
gi 1. mado (window)
gu
ge 2. mada (not yet)
go
3. sugoi (great)
za
ji
4. Arigatogozaimasu. (Thank you.)
zu
ze 5. denwa (telephone)
zo
6. Komban wa.
particle
da
ji 7. shimbun (newspaper)
zu
de 8. tomodachi (friend)
do
9. ginko (bank)
ba
bi 10. chizu (map)
bu
be
bo
pa
pi
pu
pe
po
8
Meguro Language Center
kya gya
kyu gyu
kyo gyo
sha ja
shu ju
sho jo
cha nya
chu nyu
cho nyo
hya bya
hyu byu
hyo byo
pya mya
pyu myu
pyo myo
rya
ryu
ryo
[QUIZ]
1. Tokyo 4. shumatsu (weekend)
2. jusho (address) 5. shashin (photo)
9
Meguro Language Center
Double consonants (kk, pp, ss, and tt) are represented by small . As small indicates
a one-syllable pause, the mouth prepares for the pronunciation of the next syllable.
gakko (school) kippu (ticket) kitte (stamp)
Chotto matte kudasai. (Just moment, please.)
Gambatte kudasai. (Go for it. Good luck.)
10
Meguro Language Center
(3) ji and zu are usually written in and . In few cases, they are traditionally written in
and .
11
Meguro Language Center
Printing
12
Meguro Language Center
ka
ki
ku
ke
ko
ga
gi
gu
ge
go
[QUIZ]
1. kukk i (cookie) 3. kikku (kick)
2. koku (coke) 4. keki (cake)
13
Meguro Language Center
sa
shi
su
se
so
za
ji
zu
ze
zo
[QUIZ]
1. suk i (ski) 4. sakka (soccer)
2. gasu (gas) 5. sosu (sauce)
3. soseji (sausage) 6. kuizu (quiz)
14
Meguro Language Center
ta
chi
tsu
te
to
da
ji
zu
de
do
ji and zu are usually written in and .
[QUIZ]
1. tekisuto (textbook) 4. ch i zu (cheese)
2. suteki (steak) 5. takush i (door)
3. dezato (dessert) 6. sh i tsu (sheet)
15
Meguro Language Center
na
ni
nu
ne
no
[QUIZ]
1. tenisu (tennis) 3. noto (notebook)
16
Meguro Language Center
ha
hi
fu
he
ho
ba
bi
bu
be
bo
pa
pi
pu
pe
po
[QUIZ]
1. pasupoto (passport) 5. h i ta (heater)
17
Meguro Language Center
ma
mi
mu
me
mo
[QUIZ]
1. hamu (ham) 6. mota (motor)
2. memo (memo) 7. messeji (message)
5. shisutemu (system)
ya
yu
yo
[QUIZ]
1. yotto (yacht) 3. yuza (user)
2. taiya (tire)
18
Meguro Language Center
ra
ri
ru
re
ro
[QUIZ]
1. ruru (rule) 6. taoru (towel)
2. toire (toilet, bathroom) 7. erebeta (elevator)
3. kurisumasu (Christmas) 8. esukareta (escalator)
4. garikku (garlic) 9. kareraisu (curry rice)
5. meruadoresu (e-mail address) 10. makudonarudo (McDonalds)
19
Meguro Language Center
wa
n, m
[QUIZ]
1. resutoran (restaurant) 6. hambagu (hamburg steak)
2. ressun (lesson) 7. sosu (sauce)
20
Meguro Language Center
kya gya
kyu gyu
kyo gyo
sha ja
shu ju
sho jo
cha nya
chu nyu
cho nyo
hya bya
hyu byu
hyo byo
pya mya
pyu myu
pyo myo
rya tsa
ryu tse
ryo tso
she je
che quo
va fa
vi fi
ve fe
vo fo
wi ti
we di
wo dyu
21
Meguro Language Center
[QUIZ]
1. sukejuru (schedule)
2. chokoreto (chocolate)
3. menyu (menu)
4. dizun i rando (Disneyland)
5. remont i (lemon tea)
6. chekku (check)
7. kompyuta (computer)
8. orenjijusu (orange juice)
9. infomeshon (information)
10. shampu (shampoo)
22