|
Though katakana is used to transcribe the pronunciation of foreign
words, it usually doesn't have any relation to the way a word is
written in the foreign language. It will be a phonetic transcription.
Most katakana words come from English, but there are also katakana
words derived from Portuguese, German, French, Dutch, Italian and
Korean (to name a few).
Single consonants:
Since English has many more sounds than Japanese a lot of the distinctive
sounds in English are combined into the limited number of Japanese
sounds. Japanese only knows one single consonant: the "n"
(ン). Other single consonants are transcribed as follows:
| B = bu (ブ) |
G = gu (グ) |
N = n (ン) |
S = su (ス) |
TH = su/zu (ス/ズ) |
| C = ku (ク) |
K = ku (ク) |
P =pu (プ) |
T = to (ト) |
TS = tsu (ツ) |
| D = do (ド) |
L = ru (ル) |
Q = ku (ク) |
V = bu (ブ) |
SH = shi (シ) |
| F = fu (フ) |
M = mu (ム) |
R = ru (ル) |
Z = zu (ズ) |
|
| |
Some consonants are doubled when a syllable or word ends on this
consonant, while some are replaced by a long vowel.
| C = kku (ック) |
K = kku (ック) |
Q = kku (ック) |
X = kkusu (ックス) |
TS = ttsu (ッツ) |
| T = tto (ット) |
D = ddo (ッド) |
P = ppu (ップ) |
R = long vowel (ー) |
W = long vowel (ー) |
| |
In all of these cases (except the long vowels) the vowel sounds
are pronounced as a glottal stop.
Because the "u" in katakana is often hardly pronounced,
it may be necessary to add a ー to get the Japanese to actually pronounce
the vowel.
Foreign words in kanji
Some foreign words have become so integrated into the Japanese
language that kanji have been assigned. Also certain Chinese names
maintain their kanji, though their pronunciation would normally
require katakana.
| |
Coffee |
コーヒー (珈琲) |
koohii |
| |
Cigarettes |
タバコ (煙草) |
tabako |
| |
The Roman alphabet in Japanese
These are the pronunciations and transcriptions of our alphabet.
| A |
エー |
Ee |
N |
エヌ |
Enu |
| B |
ビー |
Bii |
O |
オー |
Oo |
| C |
シー |
Shii |
P |
ピー |
Pii |
| D |
ディー |
Dii |
Q |
キュー |
Kyuu |
| E |
イー |
Ii |
R |
アール |
Aaru |
| F |
エフ |
Efu |
S |
エス |
Esu |
| G |
ジー |
Jii |
T |
ティー |
Tii |
| H |
エイチ / エッチ |
Eichi / Ecchi |
U |
ユー |
Yuu |
| I |
アイ |
Ai |
V |
ブイ / ヴィー |
Bui / Vii |
| J |
ジェー |
Jee |
W |
ダブリュー |
Daburyuu |
| K |
ケー |
Kee |
X |
エックス |
Ekkusu |
| L |
エル |
Eru |
Y |
ワイ |
Wai |
| M |
エム |
Emu |
Z |
ゼット |
Zetto |
| |
Katakana and dictionaries
Most katakana words can be found in Japanese dictionaries, therefore
the transcription is not up to the speaker or translator. If katakana
words are pronounced or transcribed wrong, the Japanese will not
understand what you are on about.
Transcription variations and abbreviations
Some katakana words are being simplified or abbreviated in Japanese.
These usually take the form of removing the final chouonfugou, or
taking the first two syllables of each word.
| |
Computer |
コンピューター |
コンピュータ |
Konpyuuta(a) |
| |
Mass Communication |
マスコミュニケーション |
マスコミ |
Masu Komyunikeeshon |
| |
Masukomi |
| |
Country names +人
Adding 人 (jin) to a country name signifies an inhabitant of that
country.
| |
日本人 |
(Nihon-jin) |
A Japanese person / the Japanese |
| |
イギリス人 |
(Igirisu-jin) |
An English person / the English |
| |
アメリカ人 |
(Amerika-jin) |
An American / the Americans |
|
