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Look at the two little strokes at the top right. This mark is called dakuten; adding it changes the kana’s sound.

Lesson notes · Beginner 1

濁音・半濁音dakuon~handakuon

Voiced and p-sound kana

Learn 「濁音・半濁音」 and how the marks change kana sounds, including b and p in the は row.

How it works

Look at the two little strokes at the top right. This mark is called dakuten; adding it changes the kana’s sound.
Adding dakuten to the か row changes k to g. Try reading が・ぎ・ぐ・げ・ご.
With dakuten, most sounds in the さ row change to z. Note that し becomes じ, pronounced ji.
Adding dakuten changes た・て・と to だ・で・ど, pronounced da・de・do.
With dakuten, ち and つ become ぢ and づ. They are usually pronounced ji and zu, not di and du.
Adding dakuten to the は row gives b sounds: ば・び・ぶ・べ・ぼ.

Gently touch your throat and alternate between か and が. Feel your vocal cords vibrate when you say が.

Katakana can take dakuten too: カ→ガ、サ→ザ、タ→ダ、ハ→バ.

Listen to the example words 学校 and 雑誌. Find が and ざ, and notice how dakuten changes the sound.

In modern Japanese, じ and ぢ usually sound the same. Both are often written ji in romaji.

In modern Japanese, ず and づ usually sound the same. Both are often written zu in romaji.

First get familiar with the common じ and ず. When you meet ぢ and づ, learn their spelling with the whole word.

Look at the top right: two strokes turn は into ば, while a small circle turns it into ぱ. The sounds differ too.

The small circle is called handakuten. On the は row, it gives p sounds: ぱ・ぴ・ぷ・ぺ・ぽ.

To say ぱ, close your lips, then release them suddenly. Try comparing the sounds of ば and ぱ.

Katakana with handakuten also has p sounds: パ・ピ・プ・ペ・ポ.

Read パン and ペン and find the small circles. Listen for the p sound in pan and pen.

The two strokes and the small circle are different marks. Look at ば and ぱ, identify the mark, then say the sound.