Basic sounds
Basic Sounds
Japanese has five basic vowels:
  • a, which sounds like the vowel in aha
  • i, which sounds like the vowel in eat
  • u, which sounds like the vowel in boot, but without lip rounding
  • e, which sounds like the vowel in eight
  • o, which sounds like the vowel in oat
These vowels have long counterparts, which are specified by a macron above them, as in ā, ī, ū, ē, and ō.
Most consonants in English exist or are pronounced similarly in Japanese.
However, note that r and f are quite different in Japanese than in English:
  • Japanese r is made by tapping the tip of the tongue behind the upper teeth  just once, like the brief flap sound tt in letter in American English.
  • Japanese f is pronounced by bringing the upper and lower lips close to  each other and blowing air between them gently.
Japanese has double consonants where a single consonant is preceded by a  brief abrupt pause. They are represented by two letters in romaji—for example, tt and ss
1. kokoro (heart)
2. e (painting)
3. take (bamboo)
4. tori (bird)
5. tōri (street)
6. ringo (apple)
7. fūfu (married couple)
8. oto (sound)
9. otto (husband)
10. kinen (anniversary)
11. kin’en (nonsmoking)
12. hon’yaku (translation)
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