Hiragana for /s/, /z/ + vowels

2.3. Hiragana for /s/, /z/ + vowels

/s/ + vowels:

Phoneme	Romanization	Description
/sa/	"sa"	English "s" + Japanese "a".
/si/	"shi"	English "sh" + Japanese "i". Note that it is not "si" but "shi".
/su/	"su"	English "s" + Japanese "u".
/se/	"se"	English "s" + Japanese "e".
/so/	"so"	English "s" + Japanese "o".

/z/ + vowels:

Phoneme	Romanization	Description
/za/	"za"	English "dz" + Japanese "a". Note that its pronunciation is not "za" but "dza".
/zi/	"ji"	English "j" + Japanese "i". Note that its pronunciation is not "zi" but "ji".
/zu/	"zu"	English "dz" + Japanese "u". Note that its pronunciation is not "zu" but "dzu".
/ze/	"ze"	English "dz" + Japanese "e". Note that its pronunciation is not "ze" but "dze".
/zo/	"zo"	English "dz" + Japanese "o". Note that its pronunciation is not "zo" but "dzo".

Note that

and

have different consonants from others.
Since Japanese people don't distinguish "dz" and "z", you can pronounce /z/ as "z", not "dz". In fact, /z/ in the middle of a word is often pronounced as "z".

Hiragana examples:

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

shi

Meaning:

sushi (noun)

For your interest: Sushi is a popular food in Japan. It is made of raw seafood (!) and rice. It tastes good, so give it a try if you have a chance. Some people expect Japanese foods to be hot like Thai and Korean foods, but actually Japanese foods have delicate and elegant tastes. Japanese foods boast of being low-fat and healthful, which is one of the reasons why the Japanese have the longest life expectancy in the world.

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

Meaning:

spoon (noun)

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

Meaning:

small bell (noun)

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

Meaning:

world (noun)

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

sô

zô

Meaning:

imagination (noun)

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

Meaning:

umbrella (noun)

Hiragana:

Accent:

Romanization:

Meaning:

politics (noun)

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