Voiced sounds: か or が?
゛ makes a consonant voiced, and ゜ turns は into ぱ. 天気 (weather) and 電気 (electricity) differ only in voicing.
Voiceless, voiced and ゜
| Voiceless | Voiced ゛ | Half-voiced ゜ | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| かきくけこ | がぎぐげご | 柿 → 鍵 | |
| さしすせそ | ざじずぜぞ | ||
| たちつてと | だぢづでど | 天気 → 電気 | |
| はひふへほ | ばびぶべぼ | ぱぴぷぺぽ | 灰 → 倍 → パイ |
How to say it
Touch your throat: が, だ and ば buzz; か, た and ぱ don't.
At the start of a word, start the buzz early.
Keep か, た and ぱ light, with little air.
Common mistakes for English speakers
Weak voicing at the start
English initial b, d, g are often partly voiceless, so でんき can sound like てんき.
Flapping t between vowels
American “water” t can make かた sound like から. Keep た a clear t.
In the pronunciation test
Prompts compare your recording with the opposite voicing, e.g. 鍵 vs 柿.
Take the free pronunciation testListen and practice
Each set differs by one beat or sound. Listen, then practice.
Audio uses a generated reference voice.