N5 · Writing Japanese
Long vowels, small tsu and small ya, yu, yo
length that changes meaning
In Japanese a sound held for one beat longer is a different word, and the spelling shows every beat.
Japanese is timed in beats, not in syllables. Every kana is one beat; a long vowel is two; a small っ is a beat of silence; ん is a beat of its own. And the number of beats is part of the word: おばさん (aunt) has four, おばあさん (grandmother) has five. English stretches vowels for emphasis and nobody minds; in Japanese the stretched version is another word.
In hiragana a long vowel is written by adding a vowel sign. Long a, i and u add あ, い and う. A long e is usually written えい (先生 is said sensē), and a long o is usually written おう (学校 is gakkō). The spelling looks like two different vowels; the sound is one long one. Katakana uses the bar ー instead.
A small っ doubles the consonant after it: the mouth gets ready for the sound and holds it for one beat before releasing it. 来て (come) and 切手 (stamp), 音 (sound) and 夫 (husband) differ by that pause alone. Small ゃ, ゅ and ょ are different again: they join the sign before them into a single beat, so きょ is one beat, kyo, while きよ is two, ki-yo.
The classic trap is 病院 (hospital, four beats) and 美容院 (hair salon, five). English speakers hear the two as the same word and write the small sign full size or the full sign small. The cure is to count beats aloud, clapping if necessary, until the difference becomes audible — and it does.
The form
| aunt — grandmother | おばさん・おばあさん |
| uncle — grandfather | おじさん・おじいさん |
| come (te-form) — stamp | 来て・切手 |
| sound — husband | 音・夫 |
| hair salon — hospital | 美容院・病院 |
| long e and long o in hiragana | 先生・学校 |
| long o written with お | 大きい・遠い |
| long vowels in katakana | ビール・ケーキ |
| beer — building | ビール・ビル |
| no smoking — a beat for ん | 禁煙 |
The rules one by one
Each kana is one beat, and a long vowel takes two.
おばあさんは九十歳です。Grandma is ninety.
A long e is usually written えい and a long o usually おう.
先生は学校にいます。The teacher is at school.
A small っ is a one-beat pause before the next consonant.
切手を三枚ください。Three stamps, please.
A small ゃ, ゅ or ょ joins the sign before it into one beat.
病院はどこですか。Where is the hospital?
ん is a full beat of its own, even without a vowel.
ここは禁煙です。This is a no-smoking area.
A closer look
Why romanisation hides the difference
Roman letters were not made for Japanese, and they are careless with length. Signs and maps often write "Tokyo" and "Osaka", but 東京 has two long vowels and 大阪 one. A learner who meets the words in roman letters first learns them short and has to unlearn it.
Kana never hide length. Every beat is a sign, and the small signs are small on purpose. This is one of the best reasons for moving from romanisation to kana as early as possible: the script shows exactly what the ear has to learn to hear.
Exceptions and special cases (2)
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a long o is written おお instead of おう
it is one of a small set of words to learn: 大きい, 多い, 遠い, 通る, 氷.
氷を入れてください。Please put some ice in it.
In these words a consonant once stood between the two vowels and later disappeared. The sound became a long o, and the spelling kept the memory.
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a long e is written ええ instead of えい
it is a native word such as おねえさん or ええ (yes).
おねえさんは何歳ですか。How old is your older sister?
The えい spelling belongs mainly to on readings, which came from Chinese. Native words write what they say.
How to spot it
- ー
- っ
- ゃ
- ゅ
- ょ
- ん
- おう
- えい
Example sentences
おじいさんとおばあさんは元気です。Grandpa and Grandma are well.
おばさんは大阪に住んでいます。My aunt lives in Osaka.
郵便局で切手を買いました。I bought stamps at the post office.
美容院で髪を切りました。I had my hair cut at the hairdresser's.
明日、病院に行きます。I am going to the hospital tomorrow.
ビールを一本ください。One bottle of beer, please.
8 more example sentences
あのビルの中に銀行があります。There is a bank inside that building.
ちょっと待ってください。Please wait a moment.
駅まで十分かかります。It takes ten minutes to the station.
夫は音楽が好きです。My husband likes music.
旅行の写真を見せてください。Please show me the photos from your trip.
駅はあまり遠くないです。The station is not very far.
今日は授業がありません。There are no classes today.
東京はとても大きい町です。Tokyo is a very big city.
Worth knowing (2)
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A small っ at the end of a word
At the end of an exclamation a small っ marks a sudden stop of the voice, the catch in the throat of someone who has just noticed something. It is written, though it has no consonant to double.
あっ、財布を忘れました。Oh! I have forgotten my wallet.
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ん changes with its neighbour
ん is always one beat, but its sound adapts to what follows. Before b, m and p it is said with the lips closed, which is why 散歩 sounds like sampo. The spelling does not change; only the mouth does.
散歩に行きませんか。Shall we go for a walk?
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
One small ょ is the whole difference between a hospital and a hair salon. びょういん has four beats, byo-u-i-n; びよういん has five, bi-yo-u-i-n. Medicine comes from the first.
Count the beats: a long vowel, a small っ and an ん each take one, and a missing beat makes another word.
Your turn
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