Page 30 - Basic Japanese

SHORT VOWEL (te ‘hand,’ ta ‘field,’ yo ‘world’), or A

CONSONANT + Y + A SHORT VOWEL (the first syllable of
kyonen ‘last year’). Note that the sounds sh, ch, ts are in each

case single consonants even though we write them with two
letters.

In addition, a syllable may consist of a consonant when
followed by another consonant (other than y) or a pause. For

example, the first k of yukkuri ‘slowly,’ the first s [a spelling

abbreviation for what is really sh of irasshaimashita ‘(you)
came,’ the first n of kon’nichi ‘today,’ and both instances of

the n in konban ‘this evening.’ The syllabic consonants are

further discussed in note 1.9.
Finally, a syllable may consist of EITHER HALF OF A LONG
VOWEL. In other words, what we write as ā, ē, ī, ō, ū are

really just abbreviations for aa, ee, ii, oo, uu—two syllables

each. Long vowels are further discussed in note 1.6.
Below are some of the words occurring in the Basic

Sentences, with the syllable divisions indicated by hyphens.