Japanese Syllables – No. 2
Additional Syllables – Consonant plus vowel
g
z
d
b
p
ga
za
da
ba
pa
gi
ji
ji
bi
pi
gu
zu
zu
bu
pu
ge
ze
de
be
pe
go
zo
do
bo
po
ga, gi, gu, ge, and go are hard "g" sound if they occur at the beginning of a
word, like the [g] in "God," "garden," "glass," etc. For example:
Hard "g"
gakusei
ginkō
guchi
gehin
gohan
student
bank
gripe
crudeness
meal
If they occur in the middle or in the last syllable of a word, however, they
take on a somewhat nasal sound, like the [g] in "thing," "ding-dong," etc.
For example:
Soft "g"
ongaku
nigiyakana
suguni
ningen
tamago
music
boisterous
right away
human
egg
The "ji" in the "z" line and "d" line, as well as "zu" in the "z" line and "d" line,
even though pronounced exactly the same, use different Hiragana and/or
Katakana. This will be further explained in later lessons.
A few examples of the "z" and "d" consonant words are:
"z"
"d"
zannen!
jishin
zurui
zenbu
zō
pity!
earthquake
cunning
total
elephant
hidari
hanaji
tsuzuku
denwa
dōbutsu
left
nosebleed
continue
telephone
animal
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A few examples of the "b" consonant words are:
"b"
bangohan
yubi
buchō
fuben
tonbo
dinner
finger
manager
inconvenience
dragonfly
A few examples of the "p" consonant words are:
"p"
kanpai!
enpitsu
tenpura
kinpen
tanpopo
toast!
pencil
tempura
vicinity
dandelion
All of the above will be explained in detail in class. You will also
be introduced to many more example words containing these
"consonant + vowel" sounds as explained above.
Also, audio files will be provided, at request.
© Ryoko Popjoy
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