Katakana
Table of Katakana Characters
Table 4: Long Vowels and Double Consonants
VOWEL LENGTHENING | Examples |
To indicate the long aa sound:
1. In most foreign words, length is shown by adding a length marker ー. 2. In other cases (e.g., katakana renditions of words
usually written in characters or hiragana), the symbol ア a is
added to an a-row syllable (rare). |
パー paa 'par
(in golf)" etc. アア aa |
To indicate the long ii sound:
1. In most foreign words, length is shown by adding a length marker ー. 2. In other cases (e.g., katakana renditions of words usually written in characters or hiragana), the symbol イ i is added to a syllable ending in i. |
スピード supiido 'speed' etc. イイ ii etc. |
To indicate the long uu sound:
1. In most foreign words, length is shown by adding a length marker ー. 2. In other cases (e.g., katakana renditions of words usually written in characters or hiragana), the symbol ウ u is added to a syllable ending in u. |
キュー kyuu 'cue
(in billiards)'
キュウ kyuu (e.g., 急 'urgent') |
To indicate the long ee sound: 1. In most foreign words, length is shown by adding a length marker ー. However, it is also very common to see the symbol イ i added to a syllable ending in e (as shown in no. 2). 2. In other cases (e.g., katakana renditions of words usually
written in characters or hiragana), the symbol イ i is
added to a syllable ending in e.
|
テーマ teema 'theme' アプリケーション apurikeeshon 'application' But テイクアウト teiku-auto 'take-out, takeaway' セイ sei |
To indicate the long oo sound: 1. In most foreign words, length is shown by adding a length marker ー. 2. In other cases (e.g., katakana renditions of words usually
written in characters or hiragana), the symbol ウ u is
added to a syllable ending in o. There
are a few exceptional words where the long ō sound
is indicated with an オ o rather
than an ウ u. |
ショー shoo 'show' Note: ジョーズ Joozu 'Jaws' but ジョウズ (上手) jōzu 'skilful' コウ kō |
CONSONANT DOUBLING | |
Doubling of stop consonants is indicated with a small tsu ッ. In Japanese words, normally only t, k, p, and s are doubled in this way. In foreign words, d b, g, j, h, f, and even v or r can also be doubled. | バッタリ battari 'with
a thud, suddenly, unexpectedly' バッグ baggu 'bag' バッド baddo 'bad' バッハ bahha 'Bach' |
Doubling of nasal consonants is indicated
with an ン n. |
ハンマー hanmaa 'hammer'. |
See also....