Learn to pronounce the は行 fricative sounds: は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ
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| This is は (ha), ひ (hi), ふ (fu), へ (he), ほ (ho). |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell the difference between Japanese and English fricatives and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Risa, and this is Japanese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| は (ha), ひ (hi), ふ (fu), へ (he), ほ (ho). |
| These are the ha-row sounds in Japanese. |
| The pronunciation of は is similar to how you breathe when you blow on a windowpane to polish it. Practice as if you were blowing on the windowpane. |
| は (ha) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| は (ha) |
| The sound へ is similar to the English he in "hen," but the h is softer, almost like a gentle exhale. |
| へ (he) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| へ (he) |
| The sound ほ is pronounced like the English ho in "hot," but with a softer, more breathy h and more rounded lips. |
| ほ ho |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| ほ ho |
| Moving on to the next two sounds, ひ and ふ. |
| These sounds don't exist in English, so practice these the most! |
| When you say ひ, your tongue position and mouth shape is similar to when you say い. So, try to say い first and then say ひ. |
| いーひー, |
| いーひー, |
| ひ |
| Bring the middle of the tongue very close to the palate (the upper part of the mouth) and breathe out through the gap all at once. |
| ひ (hi) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| ひ (hi) |
| The last one is ふ. This sound is unique to Japanese. |
| ふ is like a soft, free-flowing f sound. Bring the lips together, but don't let the lips or teeth touch. Imagine you're getting ready to blow out a candle but just allowing the air to escape. |
| ふ (fu) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| ふ (fu) |
| Let's practice some words now! |
| はこ |
| (space for repetition) |
| はこ |
| ひく |
| (space for repetition) |
| ひく |
| ふく |
| (space for repetition) |
| ふく |
| へた |
| (space for repetition) |
| へた |
| ほお |
| (space for repetition) |
| ほお |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| はん/へん |
| (space for repetition) |
| はん/へん |
| はん/ほん |
| (space for repetition) |
| はん/ほん |
| ひく/ふく |
| (space for repetition) |
| ひく/ふく |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds of these minimal pairs. |
| はん/へん |
| (1) |
| はん/へん |
| (1) |
| はん means "half," and へん means "strange." |
| Let's try another. |
| (3 sec pause) |
| ほん/ひん |
| (1) |
| ほん/ひん |
| (1) |
| ほん means "book," and ひん means "dignity." |
| Now, listen to the following sentence, focusing on different minimal pairs. |
| (1 sec pause) |
| ３時半に、本を読みます。 |
| (San-ji han ni, hon o yomimasu.) |
| はん/ほん |
| (3 sec pause) |
| Let's try another one. |
| 春に降る雨は、やさしいです。 |
| (Haru ni furu ame wa, yasashii desu.) |
| はる/ふる |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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