Japanese Writing System and Pronunciation

A set of vocabulary flashcards covering the Japanese writing system, including kanji terminology, transcription rules for double consonants and long vowels, and nuances of Japanese pronunciation such as pitch accent and syllable length.

Hiragana

The writing system covered in Lesson $1$ of the Reading and Writing section.

Katakana

The writing system covered in Lesson $2$ of the Reading and Writing section.

Kanji List

A table presented at the beginning of Lesson $3$ and subsequent lessons to help students learn characters by going over a few at a time.

On-yomi

Kanji readings derived from original Chinese pronunciation.

Kun-yomi

Native Japanese readings for kanji.

Serial Number $017$

The specific serial number for the kanji 本, which means book or basis and has a stroke count of $5$.

Small っ

A small letter used when transcribing double consonants such as pp, tt, kk, and ss.

Double consonant n

A sound written with ん plus a hiragana with an initial n sound ($な$, $に$, $ぬ$, $ね$, and $の$), such as in sannen ($3$ years).

Long Vowels

Vowels that are pronounced about twice as long as a single vowel when the same vowel is placed one right after the other.

Long ee sound

A sound usually transcribed by adding an い to an e-vowel hiragana, with exceptions like えいが (movie) and おねえさん (big sister).

Long oo sound

A sound usually transcribed by adding an う to an o-vowel hiragana, with exceptions like ほうりつ (law) and とお (ten).

ん (n)

A character treated like a full syllable in terms of length whose pronunciation varies depending on the sound that follows it.

Voiceless Consonants

The consonants $k$, $s$, $t$, $p$, and $h$, between which the vowels i and u are sometimes dropped.

Pitch Accent

The Japanese accent system where all syllables are pronounced approximately in equal length and stress, but vary between high or low pitch.

Nasalized Vowel Transcription

Indicated by ん when followed by a vowel or at the end of an utterance, making the preceding vowel long and nasalized like in the word reai (romance).

ん (n) pronounced as "m"

The pronunciation of ん when it is followed by m, p, and b sounds, such as in さんぽ (sampo).

ん (n) pronounced as "ng"

The pronunciation of ん when it is followed by k and g sounds, such as in まんが (maŋga).