katakana logo Diacritics
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1  Diacritic Marks  

 

Diacritic marks for katakana work in the same way as those in hiragana.

Diacritic marks (g/z/d/b sounds) Two short strokes attached to the right shoulder of the symbols can change the voiceless /k/, /s/, /t/ and /h/ sounds to the respective voiced sounds of /g/, /z/, /d/ and /b/ (e.g., カ ⇒ ガ).
 
Diacritic marks (p sound) A small circle attached to the right shoulder of the /h/ column symbols changes the /h/ sound to the /p/ sound (e.g., ハ ⇒ パ).
 

Click on each box and hear how the diacritics change the sound of each katakana. Note that characters and have the same sound /ji/ . Also, characters and have the same sound /zu/. When writing foreign words that involve /ji/ and /zu/ sounds, and are used respectively, and and are not used.

papipupepo babibubebo hahihuheho   dadidudedo tatituteto   zazizuzezo sasisuseso   gagigugego kakikukeko
2  Exercises  

 

A. Read the katakana words below and confirm your pronunciation by clicking on the audio icons.
1. アニメ Anime
2. バンク bank
3. モデル
model
4. ブラジル Brazil
5. ビジネス business
6. ペンパル pen pal
7. ポテトサラダ potato salad
8. フライドチキン fried chicken
9. マクドナルド McDoanld
10. コンタクトレンズ contact lens