Master the pronunciation for the sounds: さ, し, す, せ, そ vs ざ, じ, ず, ぜ, ぞ
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| This is さしすせそ. |
| And this is ざじずぜぞ. |
| By the end of this lesson, you'll be able to tell them apart, PLUS you'll be practicing them and on your way to perfect pronunciation! |
| I'm Risa, and this is Japanese Pronunciation Through Minimal Pairs. |
| The first group is |
| さ (sa), し (shi), す (su), せ (se), そ (so) |
| The second group is |
| ざ (za), じ (ji), ず (zu), ぜ (ze), ぞ (zo) |
| These are the sa-row sounds in Japanese. |
| In the first group, the consonant is the [s] sound in さ (sa), す (su), せ (se), and そ (so), similar to the s in the English word "see." |
| Notice that し (shi) is pronounced differently from the others. It's closer to the SH sound in the English word "she," but not exactly the same. |
| さ (sa), し (shi), す (su), せ (se), そ (so) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| さ (sa), し (shi), す (su), せ (se), そ (so) |
| Let's practice some words now! |
| さく (saku) |
| (space for repetition) |
| しか (shika) |
| (space for repetition) |
| すき (suki) |
| (space for repetition) |
| せき (seki) |
| (space for repetition) |
| そば (soba) |
| (space for repetition) |
| In the second group, ざ (za), ず (zu), ぜ (ze), ぞ (zo)—the consonant is similar to the z in the English word "zoo." |
| However, じ (ji) is pronounced differently. It is similar to j in "jeep," try to spread your lips when pronouncing the j sound, and you can get pretty close to Japanese じ. |
| ざ (za), じ (ji), ず (zu), ぜ (ze), ぞ (zo) |
| (3 seconds pause) |
| ざ (za), じ (ji), ず (zu), ぜ (ze), ぞ (zo) |
| Let's practice some words now! |
| ひざ (hiza) |
| (space for repetition) |
| ひじ (hiji) |
| (space for repetition) |
| ちず (chizu) |
| (space for repetition) |
| ぜひ (zehi) |
| (space for repetition) |
| ぞう (zou) |
| (space for repetition) |
| The key difference between the two groups is voicing. |
| Try to focus on whether your vocal folds vibrate or not when you pronounce these sounds. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with me. |
| Ready? |
| さつ/ざつ |
| (space for repetition) |
| さつ/ざつ |
| "bill"/"crude" |
| ざつ/じつ |
| (space for repetition) |
| ざつ/じつ |
| "crude"/"real" |
| ざつ/ずつ |
| (space for repetition) |
| ざつ/ずつ |
| "crude"/"one by one" |
| せん/そん |
| (space for repetition) |
| せん/そん |
| "line"/"loss" |
| Let's review. Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then, repeat after me, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Do you remember the group of sounds that are voiced? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ |
| (1) |
| ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ |
| And the voiceless sounds? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| さ し す せ そ |
| (1) |
| さ し す せ そ |
| Do you remember the sounds in the two groups that are different from the rest of the sounds? |
| (3) |
| (2) |
| (1) |
| し し |
| じ じ |
| Let's practice. |
| Compare the sounds of these minimal pairs. |
| さん/すん/せん/そん |
| (1) |
| さん/すん/せん/そん |
| (1) |
| さん means "three," and すん means "dimensions." せん means "line," and そん means "loss." |
| ざつ/じつ/ずつ |
| (1) |
| ざつ/じつ/ずつ |
| (1) |
| ざつ means "crude," じつ means "real." and ずつ means "one by one." |
| As we've seen in this lesson, the tiny differences in minimal pairs can lead to big changes in meaning. |
| Keep listening and practicing these minimal pairs–they'll help you improve your pronunciation! |
| By the way, if you watched til the end |
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| 30+ Japanese PDF Cheat Sheets… |
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| Just click the link in the comments section. |
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