L'interface est traduite, mais les explications de cette page sont encore rédigées en anglais — le texte pédagogique n'a pas encore été traduit.
Japonais : orthographe → son
Japanese is built from MORAE, not syllables: every beat takes the same time, and three things count as a beat on their own — ん (a nasal), っ (a held consonant) and the second half of a long vowel. とうきょう Tōkyō is four beats (to-o-kyo-o), not two; にっぽん Nippon is four (ni-p-po-n). Get that timing and you sound Japanese before your vowels are even right. The sound inventory is small and clean: five pure vowels (u is unrounded — /ɯ/, lips relaxed, not English 'oo'), and a consonant grid with five famous holes where the expected sound shifted: si→shi /ɕi/, ti→chi /t͡ɕi/, tu→tsu /t͡sɯ/, hu→fu /ɸɯ/ (blown across the lips, no teeth), zi→ji /d͡ʑi/. There is no stress — but there IS pitch accent, which quietly distinguishes 箸 hashi 'chopsticks' from 橋 hashi 'bridge'.
Suivre un mot
Chaque case est une règle qui se déclenche. Survolez une case (ou ouvrez le tableau) pour voir pourquoi. Les règles s'appliquent dans l'ordre, la première qui correspond gagne — et cet ordre est le système orthographique. Type Hepburn rōmaji (sushi, tōkyō, kippu). Every syllable is a mora — one beat.
Consonnes et semi-voyelles
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| k | か き く け こ k- | かさ kasa kasa umbrella |
| ɡ | が ぎ ぐ げ ご g- | ごはん gohan ɡohaɴ rice, meal — Many Tokyo speakers nasalise it to [ŋ] inside a word. |
| s | さ す せ そ s- | さかな sakana sakana fish |
| ɕ | し shi, しゃ しゅ しょ sh- | すし sushi sɯɕi sushi — Not English 'sh' — tongue flatter and further forward. |
| z | ざ ず ぜ ぞ z- | みず mizu mizɯ water |
| d͡ʑ | じ ji, じゃ じゅ じょ | じかん jikan d͡ʑikaɴ time |
| t | た て と t- | たべる taberu tabeɾɯ to eat |
| t͡ɕ | ち chi, ちゃ ちゅ ちょ ch- | ちいさい chīsai t͡ɕiːsai small |
| t͡s | つ tsu | つき tsuki t͡sɯki moon |
| d | だ で ど d- | だれ dare daɾe who |
| n | な に ぬ ね の n- | なつ natsu nat͡sɯ summer |
| ɴ | ん n | ほん hon hoɴ book — A beat of its own, and it changes colour: [m] before p/b/m, [n] before t/d/n, [ŋ] before k/g, uvular [ɴ] at the end. |
| h | は へ ほ h- | はな hana hana flower, nose |
| ç | ひ hi, ひゃ ひゅ ひょ | ひと hito çito person — German ich-Laut — h in front of i gets palatal. |
| ɸ | ふ fu | ふゆ fuyu ɸɯjɯ winter — Blow gently between the lips. Teeth never touch — this is not English f. |
| b | ば び ぶ べ ぼ b- | ばん ban baɴ evening |
| p | ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ p- | きっぷ kippu kipːɯ ticket |
| m | ま み む め も m- | みみ mimi mimi ear |
| j | や ゆ よ y- | やま yama jama mountain |
| ɾ | ら り る れ ろ r- | さくら sakura sakɯɾa cherry blossom — One tap — between an English r, l and d. Never the English r. |
| w | わ wa | わたし watashi wataɕi I — Barely rounded compared with English w. |
Voyelles
| IPA | Spelled | Example |
|---|---|---|
| a | あ ア a | あさ asa asa morning |
| i | い イ i | いま ima ima now |
| ɯ | う ウ u | うみ umi ɯmi sea — Say /u/ but DON'T round your lips. The commonest giveaway of a foreign accent. |
| e | え エ e | えき eki eki station |
| o | お オ o | おと oto oto sound |
| aː | ああ ā, アー | おばあさん obāsan obaːsaɴ grandmother — Length is meaning: おばさん obasan is 'aunt'. |
| iː | いい ī | おじいさん ojīsan od͡ʑiːsaɴ grandfather |
| ɯː | うう ū, ウー | すうじ sūji sɯːd͡ʑi number |
| eː | えい ei, ええ ē | せんせい sensei seɴseː teacher — ei is normally said as a long ē, not as two vowels. |
| oː | おう ō, おお | とうきょう Tōkyō toːkʲoː Tokyo |
Les règles, dans l'ordre
56 règles. La colonne de gauche est un motif (expression régulière) testé à la position courante dans le mot ; (?=…) regarde devant, (?<=…) regarde derrière, $ est la fin du mot.
| # | Pattern | Sound | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ā | ||
| 2 | ī | ||
| 3 | ū | ||
| 4 | ē | ||
| 5 | ō | ||
| 6 | tch | っ before ch (matcha) | |
| 7 | kk | っ — hold the closure for a whole beat (kippu, gakkō) | |
| 8 | pp | っ before p | |
| 9 | tt | っ before t | |
| 10 | ss | っ before s | |
| 11 | sh | si does not exist — the grid slot is shi /ɕi/ | |
| 12 | ch | ti does not exist — it is chi /t͡ɕi/ | |
| 13 | ts | tu does not exist — it is tsu /t͡sɯ/ | |
| 14 | ky | ||
| 15 | gy | ||
| 16 | ny | ||
| 17 | hy | ||
| 18 | by | ||
| 19 | py | ||
| 20 | my | ||
| 21 | ry | ||
| 22 | n' | n' marks ん before a vowel (kin'en) | |
| 23 | n(?=[aiueoyāīūēō]) | n + vowel is the な-row, not ん | |
| 24 | n(?=[pbm]) | ん before p/b/m becomes [m] (shinbun → shimbun) | |
| 25 | n(?=[kg]) | ん before k/g becomes [ŋ] (ringo) | |
| 26 | n | ん elsewhere: uvular, and a full beat | |
| 27 | h(?=i) | h before i is palatal — the German ich sound | |
| 28 | f | hu does not exist — it is fu, blown between the lips | |
| 29 | j | zi does not exist — it is ji | |
| 30 | wo | を is said o — it survives only as the object particle | |
| 31 | k | ||
| 32 | g | ||
| 33 | s | ||
| 34 | z | ||
| 35 | t | ||
| 36 | d | ||
| 37 | h | ||
| 38 | b | ||
| 39 | p | ||
| 40 | m | ||
| 41 | y | ||
| 42 | r | ||
| 43 | w | ||
| 44 | ou | ou is a long ō (Tōkyō, arigatō) | |
| 45 | ei | ei is normally a long ē (sensei, eiga) | |
| 46 | aa | ||
| 47 | ii | ||
| 48 | uu | ||
| 49 | ee | ||
| 50 | oo | ||
| 51 | a | ||
| 52 | i | ||
| 53 | u | u is UNROUNDED — lips relaxed | |
| 54 | e | ||
| 55 | o | ||
| 56 | [-'] |