Unlearning Japanese - Real Real Japan #11
Analyzing Hiragana Structure, Ambiguity, and Phonetic Shifts
Discover the organizational logic behind Japanese Hiragana modules and identify specific phonetic patterns that often trip up new learners.
Short Summary
- Japanese syllabaries organize characters into distinct groups based on consonant families (K-line, S-line, etc.).
- Certain characters undergo mandatory pronunciation changes based on their grammatical function within a sentence.
- Mastering smoother Japanese speech requires understanding combination sounds and expanding core vocabulary.
This discussion unpacks the fundamental structure of Hiragana, focusing on why seemingly simple characters can behave unexpectedly due to context or grammatical role.
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Top Comments (10)
A video where Sugi roasts English language like this would be a massive hit
Sugi's English is in fact "many many improvement"
Need •not-why-memorize• and •same-same-but-different• stickers to glue them in a workbook😢😂
here's a basic summary of hiragana: a i u e o vowels: あいうえお k-line: かきくけこ s-line さしすせそ t-line: たちつてと n-line: なにぬねの h-line: はひふへほ m-line: まみむめも y-line: や ゆ よ r-line: らりるれろ w-line: わ を finally, n: ん (there's no vowel, it's just n) special cases: し isn't si, it's shi ち isn't ti, it's chi つ isn't tu, it's tsu ふ isn't hu, it's fu (however it's not an exact f sound, more of a mix between a gentle blow and an f sound, followed by an "u" sound へ is pronounced e when used as a particle (short grammatical word, this one is specifically the equivalent of the english word "to", as in "go *to* school") は is pronounced wa when used as a particle. を is pronounced as o in some dialects, here's why: in old Japanese, they used to have わ, ゐ, ゑ and を, being wa, wi, we and wo. but then there was a language change where they dropped the w from words. while わ was completely unaffected by the language change, but を only partially survived it. ゐ and ゑ were changed to i and e, though a bit after they were just swapped out for i and e, which is why they're used as wi and we are sometimes still wi and we instead of i and e. you can also use dakuten to make unvoiced sounds voiced. か (ka)→が (ga) k turns into g s → z t → d sh/ch → j ts → dz h/f → b u → vu there's also handakuten は (ha)→ぱ(pa) h/f → p you can also make や, ゆ and よ smaller (ゃ, ゅ andょ) and put them after sounds that end in i (き, し, ち, に etc.) to change the sound a bit み + ゃ = みゃ (mya) きゃ is a softer か, like in キャメロン し and ち don't turn into shya and chya, but rather sha and cha. つ can be small too, it lengthens the consonant sound of these guys かきくけこさしすせそたちつてと when going before them you can also lengthen vowel sounds by putting ー after them or the matching vowel letter, like ねえ, but you can also use い to lengthen e sounds and う to lengthen o sounds. hope this helps 😊
The whispering "mama" was funny for no reason
最近あなた方にハマってます。
REALLY REALLY appreciate the on-screen subtitles
I choked when Cameron said “brain damage” lmfao
Sugi and Cameron have the most wonderful on screen chemistry; what an amazing friendship and channel you two created. Seriously, I look forward to every time I see a new video of y’alls in my feed 🍻 cheers to your continued success!
I have memorized all the hiragana but I still need to learn katakana 😅
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Top Comments (10)
A video where Sugi roasts English language like this would be a massive hit
Sugi's English is in fact "many many improvement"
Need •not-why-memorize• and •same-same-but-different• stickers to glue them in a workbook😢😂
here's a basic summary of hiragana: a i u e o vowels: あいうえお k-line: かきくけこ s-line さしすせそ t-line: たちつてと n-line: なにぬねの h-line: はひふへほ m-line: まみむめも y-line: や ゆ よ r-line: らりるれろ w-line: わ を finally, n: ん (there's no vowel, it's just n) special cases: し isn't si, it's shi ち isn't ti, it's chi つ isn't tu, it's tsu ふ isn't hu, it's fu (however it's not an exact f sound, more of a mix between a gentle blow and an f sound, followed by an "u" sound へ is pronounced e when used as a particle (short grammatical word, this one is specifically the equivalent of the english word "to", as in "go *to* school") は is pronounced wa when used as a particle. を is pronounced as o in some dialects, here's why: in old Japanese, they used to have わ, ゐ, ゑ and を, being wa, wi, we and wo. but then there was a language change where they dropped the w from words. while わ was completely unaffected by the language change, but を only partially survived it. ゐ and ゑ were changed to i and e, though a bit after they were just swapped out for i and e, which is why they're used as wi and we are sometimes still wi and we instead of i and e. you can also use dakuten to make unvoiced sounds voiced. か (ka)→が (ga) k turns into g s → z t → d sh/ch → j ts → dz h/f → b u → vu there's also handakuten は (ha)→ぱ(pa) h/f → p you can also make や, ゆ and よ smaller (ゃ, ゅ andょ) and put them after sounds that end in i (き, し, ち, に etc.) to change the sound a bit み + ゃ = みゃ (mya) きゃ is a softer か, like in キャメロン し and ち don't turn into shya and chya, but rather sha and cha. つ can be small too, it lengthens the consonant sound of these guys かきくけこさしすせそたちつてと when going before them you can also lengthen vowel sounds by putting ー after them or the matching vowel letter, like ねえ, but you can also use い to lengthen e sounds and う to lengthen o sounds. hope this helps 😊
The whispering "mama" was funny for no reason
最近あなた方にハマってます。
REALLY REALLY appreciate the on-screen subtitles
I choked when Cameron said “brain damage” lmfao
Sugi and Cameron have the most wonderful on screen chemistry; what an amazing friendship and channel you two created. Seriously, I look forward to every time I see a new video of y’alls in my feed 🍻 cheers to your continued success!
I have memorized all the hiragana but I still need to learn katakana 😅