N (kana)
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This article appears to contradict another article ([[Japanese_phonology#Moraic_nasal]]). Please see discussion on the talk page. |
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| kana - gojūon | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| n | wa | ra | ya | ma | ha | na | ta | sa | ka | a | |
| tsu | wi | ri | mi | hi | ni | chi | shi | ki | i | ||
| ゛ | ru | yu | mu | fu | nu | tsu | su | ku | u | ||
| ー | we | re | me | he | ne | te | se | ke | e | ||
| wo | ro | yo | mo | ho | no | to | so | ko | o | ||
ん, in hiragana, or ン in katakana, is one of the Japanese kana, which each represent one mora. It is the only kana sound ending with a consonant.
This kana is unique in several aspects; it can never begin a native Japanese word (but it can however begin a foreign loan word; for example, "Ngorongoro" is transcribed as "ンゴロンゴロ"). Also, the kana is followed by an apostrophe in some systems of transliteration whenever it precedes a vowel or a y- kana, so as to prevent confusion with other kana. But like every other kana, it represents an entire mora - and so its pronunciation is, in practice, as close to 'nn' as 'n'. The pronunciation can also change depending on what sounds surround it. These are a few of the ways it can change:
- /ŋ/ (before /k/ or /ɡ/)
- /m/ (before /m/, /b/, or /p/)
- /n/ (before /d/, /n/, /t/, or /s/)
- /ũ./ (between /a/ and /o/)
- /ĩ./ (between /i/ and /o/)
| Form | Rōmaji | Hiragana | Katakana |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal n (ん) | n | ん | ン |
| nn nh |
んん んー |
ンン ンー |
[edit] References
- Oguri, Saori; László, Tony (2005). Darling no atamannaka. Japan: Media Factory. ISBN 4-8401-1226-6.
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