Basic Japanese Sounds

Letter	Pronunciation	English Word with the Sound	Example
a	a	aa	obasan (o-ba-san; aunt)
a	a	-	obaasan (o-ba-san; grandmother)
e	ee	bed	Seto (se-to; a city in Japan)
e	ehh	-	seto (seh-to; pupil)
i	i	feet	ojisan (o-ji-san;uncle)
ii	ii	-	ojisan (o-ji-i-san; grandfather
0	o	dome	tori (to-ri; bird)
0	oo	-	tori (to-o-ri; street)
u	u	foot	yuki (yu-ki; snow)
u	uu	-	yuiki (yu-i-ki; courage)

In Japanese, any two vowels can appear next to each other in a word. You may hear them as one vowel sound, but to the Japanese, they sound like two vowels. For example, ai (ah-ee; love) sounds like one vowel - the English i (as in eye) - but to the Japanese, it's actually two vowels, not one. The word koi (koh-ee; carp) sounds like the one-syllable English word coy, but in Japanese, koi is a two-syllable word.

Table below lists some other common vowel combinations. Some of them may sound awfully similar to you, but Japanese speakers hear them differently. Try saying them aloud so that you can hear the differences.

Vowel Combinations

Vowel Combination	Pronunciation	Translation
Ai	a-i	love
Mae	ma-e	front
Ao	a-o	blue
Au	a-u	meet
Ue	u-e	up
Koi	ko-i	carp
Koe	ko-e	voice

The vowels i (ee) and u (oo) come out as a whisper whenever they fall between the consonant sounds ch, h, k, p, s, sh, t, and ts or whenever a word ends in this consonant-vowel combination. What do those consonants have in common? They're what linguists call "voiceless," meaning that they don't make your vocal cords vibrate. Put your hand over your vocal cords and say a voiceless consonant like the k sound. Then say a "voiced" consonant like the g sound.

Words with Whispered Vowels

Japanese	Pronunciation	Translation
Suketo	Su-Ke-to	skating
Kusai	Ku-Sa-i	stinky
Ashita	A-Shi-ta	tommorow
So desu	so-du-su	that's right

Words without Whispered Vowels

Japanese	Pronunciation	Translation
Sugoi	Su-go-i	amazing; wow
Kuni	Ku-ni	country
Kagu	Ka-gu	furniture

Consonant sounds

Fortunately, most Japanese consonants are pronounced as they are in English. Table below describes the sounds that you need to pay attention to.

Japanese Consonants Different from English

Consonant	Description of the Sound	Examples
r	Here you tap your tounge on the roof of your mouth just once - almost like an English f-somewhere between an f and an h sound.	rakuda (ra-ku-da; camel); toca (toh-rah; tiger); tori (toh-ree; bird)
f	A much softer sound than the English f-somewhere between an f and an h sound. Make the sound by bringing your lips close to each other and gently blowing air through them.	Fujisan (foo-jee-sahn; Mt. Fuji); tofu (tohh-foo; bean curd); fufu (fu-fu; married couple)
ts	The combination is hard to pronounce at the beginning of a word, as in tsunami, although it's easy anywhere else. Try saying the word cats in your head and then saying tsunami.	tsunami (tsoo-nah-mee; tidal wave); tsuki (tsu-ki; the moon)
ry	The combination of rand yis difficult to pronounce when it occurs before the vowel o. Try saying ri (ree) and then yo (yoh). Repeat many times and gradually increase the speed until you can pronounce the two sounds simultaneously. Remember that the rsounds almost like a dm English.	ryo (ryohh; dormitory); ryokan (ryo-kan; Japanese-style inn)

Like most other languages, Japanese has double consonants. You pronounce these double consonants - pp, tt, kk, and ss - as single consonants preceded by a brief pause. Check out the following examples:

• kekkon (kehk-kohn; marriage)
• kippu (keep-poo; tickets)
• kitte (keet-teh; stamps)
• massugu (mahs-soo-goo; straight)

asking the direction

This chapter will show you how should you ask for directions in japanese.

Japanese Version

A:	Sumimasen.
B:	Hai.
A:	Kono chikaku ni denwa ga arimasu ka.
B:	Denwa nara kono biru no nikai ni arimasu.
	Shokudou no mae desu kara sugu wakarimasu yo.
A:	Doomo.
B:	Iie.
C:	Ano, sumimasen.
D:	Hai.
C:	Toshokan wa doko deshou ka.
D:	Asoko ni ookii biru ga arimasu ne.
	Toshokan wa ano biru no tonari desu.
	Gofun gurai desu yo.
C:	Doomo arigatou gozaimashita.
D:	Doo itashimashite.

English Version

A:	Excuse me.
B:	Yes.
A:	Is there a telephone nearby?
B:	The telephone is on the second floor of this building.
	It is in front of the cafeteria , you won't miss it.
A:	Thanks.
B:	Not at all.
C:	Excuse me.
D:	Yes.
C:	Could you tell me where the library is?
D:	There is a big building over there, you see?
	The library is next to that building.
	It takes about five minutes.
C:	Thank you very much.
D:	You are welcome.

Basic Japanese Sentences

Konnichi wa. Hello. Ohayoo Gozaimasu. Good morning. Hajimemashite. Nice to meet you. Watashi wa Suzuki Akio desu. I am Akio Suzuki. Anata wa Nihon-jin desu ka. Are you a Japanese? Kore wa nan desu ka. What is this? Sore wa nan desu ka. What is that? Kore wa konpyuutaa desu. This is a computer. Kono hon wa tomodachi no desu. This is my friend's book. Shibaraku desu ne. It's been a long time. Anata wa isogashii desu ka. Are you busy? Morita San wa nansai desu ka. Mr. Morita, how old are you? Otoo-san to okaa-san wa doko desu ka. Where are your father and mother? Sumisu-san to Tanaka-san wa sensei desu. Mr. Smith and Mr. Tanaka are teachers. Kaimono ni ikimasu. I'm going shopping. Nani o kaimasu ka. What will you buy? Ganbatte kudasai. Good luck. Tookyoo e ikimashita. I went to Tokyo. Kondo no shuumatsu tookyoo e ikimasu. I am going to Tokyo this weekend.

Introduction in Japanese

Japanese Version-1 Yoshida: Hajimemashite. Yoshida Ken to moshimasu. Watashiwa nihonjin desu. Odagiri: Hajimemashite. Watashi no name wa Odagiri Satoko desu. Watashi mo nihonjin desu. Yoshida san wan nan sai desu ka. Yoshida: watashi wa ni jyu ni sai desu. Odagiri san nani o shimasu ka. Odagiri: Watashi wa chikaku no kissaten de arubaitou o shimasu. Yoshida san wa gakusei desu ka. Yoshida: Hai gakusei desu. Douzo yoroshiku. Odagiri: Douzo yoroshiku.

English Version-1

Yoshida:	How do you do? I am called Yoshida Ken. I am a Japanese national.
Odagiri:	How do you do? My name is Odagiri Satoko. I am also a Japanese national. Mr. Yoshida what is your age?
Yoshida:	My age is 22 years. Miss Odagiri what do you do?
Odagiri:	I do a part time job in the nearby Coffee shop. Mr. Yoshida are you a student?
Yoshida:	Yes I am a student. Nice to meet you.
Yamada:	Nice to meet you.

Japanese Version-2

Tanaka:	Konnichiwa.
Kimura:	Konnichiwa.
Tanaka:	Kimura-san, kochira wa watashi no tomodachi desu. Yamada Hiroko-san desu.
Yamada:	Hajimemashite. Yamada Hiroko desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
Kimura:	Kimura Ichirou desu. Douzo yoroshiku.
Yamada:	Gakusei desu ka.
Kimura:	Hai, gakusei desu.
Yamada:	Go-senmon wa.
Kimura:	Keizai desu. Anata mo gakusei desu ka.
Yamada:	Iie, hisho desu.
Kimura:	Sou desu ka.

English Version-2

Tanaka:	Hello.
Kimura:	Hello.
Tanaka:	Mr. Kimura, this is my friend. This is Hiroko Yamada.
Yamada:	How do you do? I'm Hiroko Yamada. Nice to meet you.
Kimura:	I'm Ichirou Kimura. Nice to meet you.
Yamada:	Are you a student?
Kimura:	Yes, I am.
Yamada:	What is your specialization?
Kimura:	Economics. Are you a student, too?
Yamada:	No, I'm a secretary.
Kimura:	I see.

Note: The Japanese people always mention the family name first while using full names. For example, with the name Kimura Ichirou, Ichirou is the given name and Kimura is the family name. The Japanese people do not have middle names. Everyone knows that people in Western countries put the given name first, so you can introduce yourself without reversing your name. Outside their families or circle of closest friends, Japanese adults are rarely addressed by their given names, even by neighbors or co-workers. Another significant point to remember is that after the name, the Japanese always use a suffix "san" which means Mr. or Mrs. or Miss. San is always used after the name. This is a rule, which everybody needs to follow. Another suffix "kun" is also used after the name but only for males. "Kun" also means "Mr." however always keep in mind that san is used for every one and Kun is used only for men