Hiragana for /k/, /g/ + vowels

2.2. Hiragana for /k/, /g/ + vowels

/k/ + vowels:

Phoneme	Romanization	Description
/ka/	"ka"	English "k" + Japanese "a".
/ki/	"ki"	English "k" + Japanese "i".
/ku/	"ku"	English "k" + Japanese "u".
/ke/	"ke"	English "k" + Japanese "e".
/ko/	"ko"	English "k" + Japanese "o".

/g/ + vowels:

Phoneme	Romanization	Description
/ga/	"ga"	English "g" + Japanese "a".
/gi/	"gi"	English "g" + Japanese "i".
/gu/	"gu"	English "g" + Japanese "u".
/ge/	"ge"	English "g" + Japanese "e".
/go/	"go"	English "g" + Japanese "o".

As you see, the double points at the right top of hiragana mean they have a voiced consonant. This mark is called a voiced sound mark (

/da ku te N/ "dakuten" in Japanese).

In the Northeastern Japan dialect, the /g/ in the middle of words is pronounced as "ng", which is the same sound as "ng" in singer. You don't have to pronounce the /g/ as "ng" at all.

Hiragana examples:

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

Romanization:

Meaning:

chrysanthemum (noun)

For your interest: The chrysanthemum is the symbol flower of the emperor of Japan.

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

Romanization:

Meaning:

plan (noun)

Note: The phoneme /e i/ is often pronounced as "ee" in colloquial Japanese if quickly spoken, so /ke i/ becomes "kee", /se i/ becomes "see", etc. This word is often pronounced as "keekaku" instead of "keikaku" in colloquial Japanese. Note that the "ee" is a duplication of Japanese "e", not the English "ee" in meet.

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

Romanization:

Meaning:

painting artist (noun)

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

Romanization:

kô

Meaning:

high school (noun)

Note: Remember /o u/ is pronounced as "oo" in colloquial Japanese and a circumflex is used for consecutive vowels.

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

go'

Romanization:

kô

gô

Meaning:

empress consort (noun)

Hiragana:

Phonemes:

gi'

Romanization:

Meaning:

key (noun)

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