Lesson 1: 50 Sounds (五十音)
Lanaguage Lesson - 初め！ We'll start with the "alphabet." The Japanese "alphabet" is called the gojyuuon (五十音） This translates to "fifty sounds." Even though it is called this, it actually only has 46 sounds. The remaining sounds have become obsolete over time. Here is a diagram of how the sounds work: There are also voiced sounds. When in writing, it's taking the same characters and adding either a quotation mark on the right side or a small circle on the right side. When speaking, it just changes how you say a sound. Lastly, somtimes you smash sounds together. This is usually taking a consonant sound and puttting ya yu yo with it. 会話 はじめまして。＿＿＿＿ です。どうぞ。よろしく。 Hajimemashite. _______ desu. Douzo yoroshiku. How do you do? I am ______. Pleased to meet you. おはようございます。 Ohayou gozaimasu. Good Morning (polite) こんにちは。 Konnichiha. NOTE: The "ha" at the end of the sentence is pronounced "wa." It's a special character and we'll lear