1. Dakuten (゛)
Dakuten is a diacritic (゛) added to certain Hiragana to change their pronunciation:
| Base | With Dakuten | Sound Change | Example Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| か (ka) | が (ga) | k → g | がくせい (gakusei = student) |
| さ (sa) | ざ (za) | s → z | ざっし (zasshi = magazine) |
| た (ta) | だ (da) | t → d | だいがく (daigaku = university) |
| は (ha) | ば (ba) | h → b | ばんごう (bangō = number) |
2. Handakuten (゜)
Handakuten is a small circle (゜) used only with the H-row (は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ), turning them into P sounds:
| Base | With Handakuten | Sound Change | Example Word |
|---|---|---|---|
| は (ha) | ぱ (pa) | h → p | ぱん (pan = bread) |
| ひ (hi) | ぴ (pi) | h → p | ぴあの (piano = piano) |
3. Yōon (Small や, ゆ, よ Combinations)
Yōon (ようおん) are contracted sounds made by combining:
-
A Hiragana ending in “i” (き, し, ち, に, etc.)
-
With a small や (ゃ), ゆ (ゅ), or よ (ょ)
| Base | + Small や/ゆ/よ | Sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| き (ki) | きゃ (kya) | kya | きゃく (kyaku = guest) |
| し (shi) | しゅ (shu) | shu | しゅくだい (shukudai = homework) |
| ち (chi) | ちょ (cho) | cho | ちょっと (chotto = a little) |
| に (ni) | にゃ (nya) | nya | にゃん (nyan = meow) |
4. Small っ (Sokuon – Glottal Stop or Consonant Doubling)
The small tsu (っ) is used to indicate a double consonant, which gives a slight pause or “stop” before the next sound:
| Word | Meaning | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| がっこう (gakkou) | school | っ before “k” = double “k” |
| ざっし (zasshi) | magazine | っ before “sh” = double “s” |
| きって (kitte) | stamp | っ before “t” = double “t” |