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What is the point of the letter u in romanji 2016/9/20 02:24
Hello, I am currently learning Japanese through ADLC (distance learning) the curriculum uses romanji at first to get the student used to the sounds (i guess?) But one of the things i noticed is that "Desu" or "is/am/are" has a "u" at the end of it that is not sounded. similarly there are a couple other words i have learned that end in u, but the u is not sounded. does anyone know why it is like this?
by Milkev (guest)  

Re: What is the point of the letter u in romanji 2016/9/20 10:19
desu in hiragana is です, and by right should be pronounce as DE SU.

Most of the time when spoken people just shortcut it into de-s.

Some written, reading and spoken word do sound different, especially when slang and dialect come into play. Some will drop it other may stress it.


Just like English 'going to' became 'gonna' etc..

The same can be said for the silent e, h and k in English, and so those others languages.

What the point of having those silent letter if you dont pronounce it. Confusing to language learner.

In my opinion..





by ... (guest) rate this post as useful

Re: What is the point of the letter u in romanji 2016/9/20 11:38
It is pronounced, though very short and not as strong as the others. I may not be explaining it correctly but I can hear a distinct "uh" sound at the end. At least that's how I pronounce it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TyrL6z7ny8
by John B digs Japan rate this post as useful

Re: What is the point of the letter u in romanji 2016/9/20 20:06
Note that writing the verb for example as "arimasu" is a romanized representation of the Japanese syllables, originally written in phonetic letters, hiragana. あります is the original writing, which consists of four syllables, a-ri-ma-su, which takes up space (or time) of four syllables, which then may be written in romanized Japanese ("romaji" by the way, not romanji).

And actually if you compare just making simply the "sssssss" sound and the last bit of saying "arimas(u)," you will notice that the shape of the mouth is slightly different, and as John above said, it is not completely "silent."
by AK rate this post as useful

Re: What is the point of the letter u in romanji 2016/9/21 06:59
Ok! thanks guys, that nice to know.
by Milkev (guest) rate this post as useful

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