Double vowels (e.g., -aa-,
-ii-, -uu-,
-ee- and -oo-)
in katakana are written with a vowel extender symbol . For example, ああ is usually written as アー, not as アア. Click the audio icons below to hear the pronunciation of katakana words.
カード
card
キー
key
スーパー
supermarket
ケーキ
cake
コーヒー
coffee
2: Double Consonants (Pause in Air Flow)
Double consonants in katakana are written in the similar way as those in hiragana. That is, double consonants represent a pause in air flow
(e.g., -kk-, -dd-,
-pp-, -tt-, etc.).
This is written by a small (half-height) katakana ッ つ as shown below. For the double consonant -ss-, instead of a pause in air flow, a continuous fricative sound -sss- is usually used (See below).
ホッケー
hockey
グッドラック
good luck
ハッピーエンド
happy end
バスケットボール
basket ball
ハッスル
hustle
Exception: Like the hiragana character ん, the katakana ン represents a syllabic -nn- sound and is NOT a double consonant.
As a result, ッ つ is not used to transcribe this sound. See below.
. For example, 