Part 8: や ゆ よ and Long Vowels
や ゆ よ belong to や-row in the gojūon-zu (table of 46 basic letters).
You already have learned い and え.
Reading
Writing
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Start the first stroke with slightly tilted straight line, then curve. The line 3 should be tilted properly. |
|---|---|
 |
Look closely how lines are curved and crossed. |
 |
The lines 1 and 2 are not crossed (just touching). |
Typing
| Hiragana | や | ゆ | よ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Keystrokes | ya | yu | yo |
Long Vowels
In addition to the five vowels あ, い, う, え and お, there are five long vowels.
The length of long vowels should be double (two letters long).
Long あ [ā]
| あ-column letter + あ | ||
|---|---|---|
| ああ ā | やあ yā | おかあさん okāsan |
Long い [ii]
| い-column letter + い | ||
|---|---|---|
| ちいさい chiisai | いいえ iie | おいしい oishii |
Long う [ū]
| う-column letter + う | ||
|---|---|---|
| くうき kūki | すうしき sūshiki | ふつう futsū |
Long え [ē]
| え-column letter + い (rarely え) | ||
|---|---|---|
| とけい tokē(ei) | せいと sē(ei)to | めいし mē(ei)shi |
Double vowel [ei] often becomes [ē].
Long お [ō]
| お-column letter + う or お | ||
|---|---|---|
| ひこうき hikō(ou)ki | とうふ tō(ou)fu | おおい ōi |
Double vowel [ou] often becomes [ō].
Pronunciation
| short vowels | いえ (house) | くき (stem) | ゆき (snow) |
|---|---|---|---|
| long vowels | いいえ (No.) | くうき (air) | ゆうき (courage) |
Long vowel has to be clearly longer than the standard (short) vowel. Otherwise it can be taken as a different word.
Drill Exercise
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