Practice the semivowels
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| This is や (ya), this is ゆ (yu), this is よ (yo), and this is わ (wa). |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll master the Japanese semivowels and be on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Risa, and this is Japanese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) |
| The y in や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) is called "semivowel." |
| A semivowel is a sound that is similar to a vowel but functions more like a consonant. |
| In the case of や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo), the initial y sound is produced with a quick, gliding motion of the tongue, similar to how you would pronounce the y in the English word "yes." |
| Repeat after me. |
| (1 second) |
| や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| や (ya), ゆ (yu), よ (yo) |
| Next is わ (wa). |
| The w in わ (wa) is also called a semivowel. It's similar to the w sound in the English word "wet." |
| Repeat after me. |
| わ (wa) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| わ (wa) (enunciated) |
| [3 sec pause] |
| わ (wa) |
| Let's practice some words now! |
| やくそく (yakusoku) |
| "promise" |
| (space for repetition) |
| やくそく (yakusoku) |
| ゆき (yuki) |
| "snow" |
| (space for repetition) |
| ゆき (yuki) |
| よる (yoru) |
| "night" |
| (space for repetition) |
| よる (yoru) |
| わくわく (wakuwaku) |
| "excited" |
| (space for repetition) |
| わくわく |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| ゆく/よく |
| (space for repetition) |
| ゆく/よく |
| よく/わく |
| (space for repetition) |
| よく/わく |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds of these minimal pairs. |
| やく/ゆく |
| (1) |
| やく/ゆく |
| (1) |
| やく means "role," and ゆく is another way of saying いく, which means "to go." |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| ゆく/よく |
| (1) |
| ゆく/よく |
| (1) |
| ゆく means "to go," and よく means "greed." |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| わく/よく |
| (1) |
| わく/よく |
| (1) |
| わく means "frame," and よく means "greed." |
| Now, listen to the following sentence, focusing on different minimal pairs. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| 彼のやくは大事なので、早くゆく必要があります。 |
| (Kare no yaku wa daiji na no de, hayaku yuku hitsuyō ga arimasu.) |
| "His role is important, so he needs to go quickly." |
| (1) |
| やく/ゆく |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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| Just click the link in the comments section. |
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