Comparing English & Japanese Phonologies 比较英语和日语音韵
The Japanese Writing System 日语文字系统
Japanese Phonology 日本音韵
The Japanese language has 5 vowels (a, i, u, e, and o) and 10 consonants (K, S,T, N, H, M, Y, R, W, and N). When combined these 5 vowels and 10 consonants can create all of the various sounds in the Japanese language. The pairing of a consonant and a vowel in Japanese creates a simple syllable known as a “monograph” (“mono” meaning 1 and “graph” meaning a symbol that represents a single unit of sound).
日语有5个元音（a，i，u，e和o）和10个辅音（K，S，T，N，H，M，Y，R，W和N）。这5个元音和10个辅音结合起来可以组成日语里所有的发音。在日语中，辅音和元音的结合会形成一个简单的音节，称为“单音词”（”单声”，意思是1和”graph”，意思是音）。
The Japanese language has a total of 46 basic “monographs”. In addition to these 46 basic “monographs” the Japanese language has other more complex sounds which are know as a “digraph” (“di” meaning 2 and “graph” meaning a symbols that represents a unit of sound, or two sounds together). The Japanese language has a total of 21 basic “digraphs”. These compound sounds are created when the monographs for (ya, yu, yo) are combined with other consonants to create a compound syllable.
日语共有46部基本的”单音词”。除了这46本基本的”单音词”外，日语还有其他更复杂的声音，它们被称为”合成词”（”di”意思是2和”graph”意思是音，或两种声音在一起）。日语共有21个基本的”合成词”。当（ya，yu，yo）的单音词与其他辅音结合以创建复合音节时，就会产生复合音。
The basic monographs and digraphs account for a total of 67 unique sounds in the Japanese language; however there are other sounds in addition to the 67 basic sounds listed above. These sounds are created when the consonants (K, S, T, H) are modified to create the consonants (G, Z, D, B, and P). The modification of these consonants creates an additional 25 Monographs and 12 more Digraphs combinations.
基本单音词和合成词组成日语中67种独特发音：然而，除了上述67个基本发音外，还有其他发音。当辅音（K、S、T、H）被修改以创建辅音（G、Z、D、B 和 P）时，就会产生这些音。这些辅音的修改形成了额外的25个单音和12个组合音。
Therefore, the Japanese language has a total of 104 unique sounds.
因此，日语共有104种独特的声音。
Common Phrases 常用短语
| English | 日本語（にほんご） | 中文 |
|---|---|---|
| Good morning | おはようございます Ohayōgozaimasu | 早上好 Zǎoshang hǎo |
| Hello | こんにちわ Konnichiwa | 你好 Nǐ hǎo |
| Good evening | こんばんわ Konbanwa | 晚上好 Wǎnshàng hǎo |
| Goodbye | さようなら Sayōnara | 再见 Zàijiàn |
| Goodnight | おやすみなさい Oyasuminasai | 晚安 Wǎn’ān |
| I’m back (I’m home) | ただいま Tadaima | 我回家 Wǒ huí jiā |
| How are you? | おげんきですか？ O-genki desu ka? | 你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? |
| Thank you | ありがとうございます Arigatō gozaimasu | 谢谢 Xièxiè |
| You are welcome | どういたしまして Dō itashimashite | 别客气 Bié kèì |
| I’m sorry | すみません Sumimasen | 对不起 Duìbùqǐ |
| Just a moment | ちょっとまってください Chotto matte kudasai | 请等一下 Qǐng děng yīxià |
| Look out (be careful) | きをつけて Ki o tsukete | 小心 Xiǎoxīn |
| Good Luck | がんばってください Ganbatte kudasai | 加油 Jiāyóu |
Questions about Japanese Phonology 关于日语语音问题
- How many vowels are there in Japanese?
日语里有多少个元音？ - Does the pronunciation of the vowels ever change in Japanese?
日语里元音的发音会发生变化吗？ - How many consonants are there in Japanese?
日语里有多少个辅音？ - Does the pronunciation of a consonant ever change in Japanese?
日语里辅音的发音会发生变化吗？ - How many unique sounds are there in the Japanese language?
日语里有多少独特发音？ - Do you think it would be easy to learn Japanese phonetics? Why?
你认为学习日语语音容易吗？为什么？ - Do you think it would be more difficult to learn Japanese or English? Why?
学习日语和学习英语哪个更困难？为什么？