Lesson 2: か き く け こ
Reading
How to Read
か, き, く, け and こ are placed in the second row of the 五十音図 [ gojūon-zu | Table of 50 sounds ].
Dakuon
Letters with two short bars are called 濁音 dakuon (lit. muddy/turbid sound). These are the voiced sounds of か, さ, た, は-row syllables.
Contrary, voiceless sounds are called 清音 seion (lit. clear sound).
Irregular Pronunciation
Rule 1: o + u = ō
| word | component | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| おう （王 king） noun | o u | ō |
| こうこう （高校 high school） | ko u ko u | kōkō |
| くうこう （空港 airport） | ku u ko u | kūkō |
When お colum letters （お こ そ と の ほ も よ ろ ご ぞ ど ぼ ぽ） are followed by う, the pronunciation is [ ō ] (long o not ou).
The spelling in Rōmaji is [ ō ].
Rule 1 (exception): o + u = ou
| word | component | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| おう （追う to chase） verb | o u | ou |
There are exceptions. For example, when お colum letters + う is the verb ending, you read as it is written.
Rule 2: e + i = ei / ē
| word | component | pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| えいが （映画 movie） | e i ga | eiga / ēga |
| えいご （英語 English） | e i go | eigo / ēgo |
When え colum letters （え け せ て ね へ め れ げ ぜ で べ ぺ） are followed by い, the pronunciation often becomes [ ē ] (long e).
This is a natural phenomenon and the degree of this change varies from person to person.
Both ways [ ei ] and [ ē ] are correct.
The spelling in Rōmaji is [ ei ].
Quiz
How to Do
- Hiragana will be shown.
- Read out the letter when it becomes red color.
- You are good enough if you can read correctly the last 10 questions.
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References
Related Topics
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Play List - all videos of Lesson 2
