Rōmaji （ローマ字）
Rōmaji was developed to describe the sound of Japanese in Roman alphabet.
Rōmaji is mainly used for the convenience of foreigners who are not familiar with Japanese characters.
For example, name of the train station is written in Rōmaji along with Japanese characters.
In general, Rōmaji is used alone, not mixed with other Japanese characters.
There are different ways of spelling. The Hepburn Romanization is the most commonly used system.
Rōmaji Spelling
The following tables show the Rōmaji spelling of Kana letters (Hiragana and Katakana).
Irregular spellings are colored in red.
Gojūon
| a column |
i column |
u column |
e column |
o column |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| a row |
あ ア | い イ | う ウ | え エ | お オ |
| a | i | u | e | o | |
| ka row |
か / カ | き / キ | く / ク | け / ケ | こ / コ |
| ka | ki | ku | ke | ko | |
| sa row |
さ / サ | し / シ | す / ス | せ / セ | そ / ソ |
| sa | shi | su | se | so | |
| ta row |
た / タ | ち / チ | つ / ツ | て / テ | と / ト |
| ta | chi | tsu | te | to | |
| na row |
な / ナ | に / ニ | ぬ / ヌ | ね / ネ | の / ノ |
| na | ni | nu | ne | no | |
| ha row |
は / ハ | ひ / ヒ | ふ / フ | へ / ヘ | ほ / ホ |
| ha | hi | fu | he | ho | |
| ma row |
ま / マ | み / ミ | む / ム | め / メ | も / モ |
| ma | mi | mu | me | mo | |
| ya row |
や / ヤ | (い / イ) | ゆ / ユ | (え / エ) | よ / ヨ |
| ya | (i) | yu | (e) | yo | |
| ra row |
ら / ラ | り / リ | る / ル | れ / レ | ろ / ロ |
| ra | ri | ru | re | ro | |
| wa row |
わ / ワ | (い / イ) | (う / ウ) | (え / エ) | お / オ |
| wa | (i) | (u) | (e) | o | |
| ん / ン | |||||
| n | |||||
Dakuon
| a column |
i column |
u column |
e column |
o column |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ga row |
が / ガ | ぎ / ギ | ぐ / グ | げ / ゲ | ご / ゴ |
| ga | gi | gu | ge | go | |
| za row |
ざ / ザ | じ / ジ | ず / ズ | ぜ / ゼ | ぞ / ゾ |
| za | ji | zu | ze | zo | |
| da row |
だ / ダ | ぢ / ヂ | づ / ヅ | で / デ | ど / ド |
| da | ji | zu | de | do | |
| ba row |
ば / バ | び / ビ | ぶ / ブ | べ / ベ | ぼ / ボ |
| ba | bi | bu | be | bo |
Handakuon
| a column |
i column |
u column |
e column |
o column |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| pa row |
ぱ / パ | ぴ / ピ | ぷ / プ | ぺ / ペ | ぽ / ポ |
| pa | pi | pu | pe | po |
Yōon
| きゃ / キャ | きゅ / キュ | きょ / キョ |
| kya | kyu | kyo |
| しゃ / シャ | しゅ / シュ | しょ / ショ |
| sha | shu | sho |
| ちゃ / チャ | ちゅ / チュ | ちょ / チョ |
| cha | chu | cho |
| にゃ / ニャ | にゅ / ニュ | にょ / ニョ |
| nya | nyu | nyo |
| ひゃ / ヒャ | ひゅ / ヒュ | ひょ / ヒョ |
| hya | hyu | hyo |
| みゃ / ミャ | みゅ / ミュ | みょ / ミョ |
| mya | myu | myo |
| りゃ / リャ | りゅ / リュ | りょ / リョ |
| rya | ryu | ryo |
| ぎゃ / ギャ | ぎゅ / ギュ | ぎょ / ギョ |
| gya | gyu | gyo |
| じゃ / ジャ | じゅ / ジュ | じょ / ジョ |
| ja | ju | jo |
| ぢゃ / ヂャ | ぢゅ / ヂュ | ぢょ / ヂョ |
| ja | ju | jo |
| びゃ / ビャ | びゅ / ビュ | びょ / ビョ |
| bya | byu | byo |
| ぴゃ / ピャ | ぴゅ / ピュ | ぴょ / ピョ |
| pya | pyu | pyo |
Sokuon
| っ / ッ |
Make the first letter of the following consonant double. Examples: さっき sakki, きっぷ kippu, ベッド beddo, ロック rokku |
Long Vowels
| long a | long i | long u | long e | long o |
| ā | ii | ū | ē or ei | ō |
How to Read Rōmaji
Basically, you can read Rōmaji as you usually read English texts. But the pronunciation of Japanese syllables is not exactly the same as English.
To master the correct pronunciation, try to imitate the pronunciation of native Japanese speakers.
Basic Rules
Each syllable (each Hiragana and Katakana letter) is pronounced for the same length. For example, when you say the word [aka] in 1 second, it takes 0.5 second for [a] and another 0.5 second for [ka]. You don't have to be this precise, but it is important to keep it mind.
Letters with a bar on top - ā, ū, ē and ō are long vowels and the length should be double of the standard vowels.
[f] sound: Create the sound with pursed lips (like whistling).
[r] sound: Tip of your tongue is rolled back for English [r], and is placed behind the upper teeth for English [l]. For Japanese [r], the position is between these two. The sound is more closer to English [l].
[n] sound: It is considered to be one syllable, and the length should be the same as other syllables.
You can learn and practice the pronunciation at Hiragana Master Drill.
