Pa Pi Pu Pe Po
Katakana 2
Chapter 5 Β· Pa Pi Pu Pe Po
πΈ The Little Circle γ β γ γ γ γ γ
The second mark, the little circle γ (handakuten), works only on the H row and turns h into p: γ γ γ γ γ (pa pi pu pe po). In hiragana, P sounds were rare. In katakana they are everywhere, because English is full of p words. Romaji is shown for everything.
| Plain | With γ | Sound before | Sound now |
|---|---|---|---|
| γ | γ | ha | pa |
| γ | γ | hi | pi |
| γ | γ | fu | pu |
| γ | γ | he | pe |
| γ | γ | ho | po |
| a | i | u | e | o | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| h | γ | γ | γ | γ | γ |
| p (h + γ) | γ | γ | γ | γ | γ |
All five highlighted characters are today's: the whole P row in one chapter.
β¨ Five New Characters β γ γ γ γ γ
π Read It β New Words
Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji and the English word it comes from.
| # | Word | Romaji | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | γγ³ | pan | bread | pa-n: from Portuguese pΓ£o, not English |
| 2 | γγ³ | pen | pen | pe-n |
| 3 | γγ’γ | piano | piano | pi-a-no |
| 4 | γγΌγ« | pΕ«ru | swimming pool | pu-u-ru |
| 5 | γγΉγ | posuto | post box; mailbox | po-su-to |
| 6 | γΉγΌγγΌ | sΕ«pΔ | supermarket | su-u-pa-a: short for supermarket |
| 7 | γγΆ | piza | pizza | pi-za |
| 8 | γγ½γ³γ³ | pasokon | personal computer; PC | pa-so-ko-n: short for personal computer |
| 9 | γγγ | poteto | potato (fries) | po-te-to |
| 10 | γγ©γΉ | purasu | plus | pu-ra-su |
βοΈ Try It Yourself β γγγγ γ
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. Read aloud: γ Β· γ Β· γ Β· γ Β· γ
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pa Β· pi Β· pu Β· pe Β· po
2. Read aloud and translate: γγ³ Β· γγ³ Β· γγ’γ
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pan (bread) Β· pen (pen) Β· piano (piano)
3. Read aloud and translate: γγΌγ« Β· γγΉγ Β· γΉγΌγγΌ
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pΕ«ru (pool) Β· posuto (post box) Β· sΕ«pΔ (supermarket)
4. Read aloud and translate: γγΆ Β· γγ½γ³γ³ Β· γγγ
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piza (pizza) Β· pasokon (PC) Β· poteto (potato)
5. How do you tell γ from γ?
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γ has two dots (γ, bo); γ has a small circle (γ, po).
6. Write in katakana: pan Β· piza Β· sΕ«pΔ (check the stroke order).
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γγ³ Β· γγΆ Β· γΉγΌγγΌ