What sounds are used in the Japanese language?

Japanese uses single vowels, consonant + vowel sounds with modified versions, and one lone consonant. The main set of sounds can be represented on a five by ten grid, often called the 五十音 (gojūon) – literally, “fifty sounds”, along with modified sounds.

Vowel	K	(G)	S	(Z)	T	(D)	N	H	(B)	(P)	M	Y	R	W
a	ka	ga	sa	za	ta	da	na	ha	ba	pa	ma	ya	ra	wa
i	ki	gi	si	zi	ti	zi	ni	hi	bi	pi	mi	–	ri	–
u	ku	gu	su	zu	tu	zu	nu	hu	bu	pu	mu	yu	ru	–
e	ke	ge	se	ze	te	de	ne	he	be	pe	me	–	re	–
o	ko	go	so	zo	to	do	no	ho	bo	po	mo	yo	ro	wo
	kya	gya	sya	zya	tya	dya	nya	hya	bya	pya	mya		rya
	kyu	gyu	syu	zyu	tyu	dyu	nyu	hyu	byu	pyu	myu		ryu
	kyo	gyo	syo	zyo	tyo	dyo	nyo	hyo	byo	pyo	myo		ryo
															n

All very neat, and this is the Kunrei-shiki romanisation system taught in Japanese schools.

But – as often happens when moving from one language to another – it’s not quite so simple. While the sounds for most of the consonant + vowel combinations are well represented by the consonant for the column + the vowel for the row, a few are not. In particular, si is pronounced more like shi, ti more like chi, and tu more like tsu.

These differences are reflected in another romanisation system, Hepburn (named after the creator of an early Japanese-English dictionary).

Vowel	K	(G)	S	(Z)	T	(D)	N	H	(B)	(P)	M	Y	R	W
a	ka	ga	sa	za	ta	da	na	ha	ba	pa	ma	ya	ra	wa
i	ki	gi	si	ji	chi	zi	ni	hi	bi	pi	mi	–	ri	–
u	ku	gu	su	zu	tsu	zu	nu	fu	bu	pu	mu	yu	ru	–
e	ke	ge	se	ze	te	de	ne	he	be	pe	me	–	re	–
o	ko	go	so	zo	to	do	no	ho	bo	po	mo	yo	ro	wo
	kya	gya	sha	ja	cha	ja	nya	hya	bya	pya	mya		rya
	kyu	gyu	shu	ju	chu	ju	nyu	hyu	byu	pyu	myu		ryu
	kyo	gyo	sho	jo	cho	jo	nyo	hyo	byo	pyo	myo		ryo
														n

F or H?

The Japanese sound is somewhere between the two, and the same applies to the sound represented here as R – it’s somewhere between R and L. The sound often represented by N is sometimes represented by M. Some individuals prefer to use C instead of K, such as Tezuka Macoto (not Makoto) film director and son of the influential comic artist Tezuka Osamu.

It’s always best to ask when it comes to Japanese personal and place names.