Here is a guide to the essential rules of Hiragana pronunciation in Japanese.
1. Long Vowels (長音 - Choo on)
In Japanese, vowel length changes the meaning of a word (e.g., ie = house vs. iie = no). When a vowel is doubled, you simply hold the vowel sound for two beats instead of one.
Here is how they are written in Hiragana:
A-sound + あ: おかあさん (okaasan / Mother)
I-sound + い: おにいさん (oniisan / Older brother)
U-sound + う: たいふう ( taifuu / Typhoon)
E-sound + い (Usually): せんせい (sensei → pronounced sensee / Teacher)
Exception: A few words use え, like おねえさん (oneesan / Older sister)
O-sound + う (Usually): ありがとう (arigatou → pronounced arigatoo / Thank you)
Exception: A few words use お, like おおきい (ookii / Big)
2. Double Consonants / Small Tsu (促音 - Sokuon)
When you see a small っ (tsu), it is not pronounced as "tsu." Instead, it creates a glottal stop or a sharp pause right before the next consonant. Think of it as holding your breath for a split second.
In English romaji, this is represented by doubling the consonant that follows it.
きて (kite / Come) vs. きって (kitte / Stamp)
さか (saka / Hill) vs. さっか (sakka / Author)
How to pronounce it: Imagine saying the English phrase "cat tail." The tiny pause your tongue makes between the two 't's is exactly how っ works.
3. Tricky Particles (助詞 - Joshi)
Grammatical particles are the glue of Japanese sentences. Three specific Hiragana characters change their pronunciation entirely when used as particles:
| Character | Normal Pronunciation | Particle Pronunciation | Grammatical Role | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| は | ha | wa | Topic Marker | わたしは (Watashi wa... / As for me...) |
| を | o | o | Object Marker | ほんをよむ (Hon o yomu / Read a book) NOT お |
| へ | he | e | Direction Marker | とうきょうへ (Tōkyō e / To Tokyo) |
4. Modified Sounds (Dakuon & Handakuon)
You can change the pronunciation of certain Hiragana families by adding small marks to the top right corner of the character.
Tenten (゛) - Voicing
The tenten (two small dots) turns unvoiced consonants into voiced consonants.
K → G (e.g., か ka → が ga)
S → Z (e.g., さ sa → ざ za) *(し shi becomes じ ji)
T → D (e.g., た ta → だ da) *(ち chi becomes ぢ ji / つ tsu becomes づ zu)
H → B (e.g., は ha → ば ba)
Maru (゜) - P-sound
The maru (a tiny circle) is only used with the H-row to turn them into P-sounds.
H → P (e.g., は ha → ぱ pa)
5. Contracted Sounds (拗音 - Yooon)
When an i-column character (like き ki, し shi, に ni) is paired with a small ゃ (ya), ゅ (yu), or ょ (yo), they blend into a single syllable.
きよ (ki-yo / Two syllables) vs. きょ (kyo / One syllable)
しゅ (shu / as in shumi - hobby)
- りょ (ryo / as in ryokan - Japanese inn)
- びよういん (biyooin / hairdresser) vs. びょういん (byooin / hospital)
Which of these rules do you find the most challenging to practice?
