Pronunciation

In Japanese, 長音 (chōon) refers to long vowels, where the sound of a vowel is held longer than usual. These long vowels are important for distinguishing between different words, as they can change the meaning of a word entirely.

Types of Long Vowels:

1. あ (a) becomes ああ (ā) or ア (a) becomes アー (ā)

2. い (i) becomes いい (ī) or イ (i) becomes イー (ī)

3. う (u) becomes うう (ū) or ウ (u) becomes ウー (ū)

4. え (e) becomes ええ (ē) or エ (e) becomes エー (ē)

5. お (o) becomes おお (ō) or オ (o) becomes オー (ō)

Pronunciation:

• Long vowels are pronounced by holding the vowel sound for about twice as long as a regular vowel. The vowel is still the same, just elongated.

• For example:

おばさん(obasan) ("aunt") vs. おばあさん(obaasan) ("grandmother"). Notice how the second word has a longer あ(a) sound.

すし (sushi) ("sushi") vs. すしー (sushī) (slang for "sushi" or sometimes used for emphasis).

Writing Long Vowels:

• Hiragana: Long vowels are usually written by adding an additional vowel (e.g., う becomes うう).

• Katakana: Long vowels in Katakana are represented by adding the "ー" mark after the vowel (e.g., アー, イー, ウー).

• Romaji: A macron ( ¯ ) is used to indicate the lengthening of the vowel.

Important Notes:

• In katakana, ー is used to indicate the long vowel sound. For example:

カ (ka) becomes カー (kā) ("car").

シ (shi) becomes シー (shī) ("sea").

• Long vowels are essential in distinguishing between words in Japanese, and they often appear in borrowed words from English and other languages (e.g., コーヒー (kōhī) for "coffee").

Common Mistakes:

• Not elongating the vowel sufficiently: In Japanese, pronunciation and meaning can change dramatically with long vowels, so it’s important to get the length correct.

• Misreading 長音 as a diphthong or blending vowels incorrectly.