Extended Sounds I
Katakana 2
Chapter 9 · Extended Sounds I
🌸 Extended Sounds I — ファ フィ フェ フォ and ウィ ウェ ウォ
Modern katakana can write sounds that Japanese never had, by attaching a small vowel (ァ ィ ェ ォ) to a normal character. This chapter introduces the first two families: F (ファ フィ フェ フォ) and W (ウィ ウェ ウォ). They are the sounds behind fan, fork, film and web. Romaji is shown for everything.
🌍 The Extra Foreign Sounds — 外来音
Japanese has no basic character for sounds like fa, wi or we. In modern katakana a small vowel ァ ィ ゥ ェ ォ fixes this: it is attached to the character before it, and it changes that character's vowel. The two together make one beat, the same as the combined sounds you learned. Today's pieces are the F and W families. Click any character for its stroke order.
| Character | Pieces | Romaji / sound | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| ファ fa "fa" as in father | フ + small ァ | fa | ファン fan |
| フィ fi "fi" as in fit | フ + small ィ | fi | フィルム film |
| フェ fe "fe" as in fed | フ + small ェ | fe | フェリー ferry |
| フォ fo "fo" as in fork | フ + small ォ | fo | フォーク fork |
| ウィ wi "wi" as in wit | ウ + small ィ | wi | ウィスキー whisky |
| ウェ we "we" as in wet | ウ + small ェ | we | ウェブ web |
| ウォ wo "wo" as in wall | ウ + small ォ | wo | ウォーク walk |
📖 Read It — New Words
Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji and the English word it comes from.
| # | Word | Romaji | English | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ファン | fan | fan (a supporter) | fa-n |
| 2 | ファイル | fairu | file | fa-i-ru |
| 3 | ファミリー | famirī | family | fa-mi-ri-i: a family restaurant is a ファミレス |
| 4 | ファッション | fasshon | fashion | fa-s-sho-n: ッ and ショ from earlier chapters |
| 5 | フォーク | fōku | fork | fo-o-ku |
| 6 | フィルム | firumu | film (photographic) | fi-ru-mu |
| 7 | フェリー | ferī | ferry | fe-ri-i |
| 8 | ウェブ | webu | the web; website | we-bu |
| 9 | ウィスキー | wisukī | whisky | wi-su-ki-i |
| 10 | ウォーク | wōku | walk (in walking) | wo-o-ku |
✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう
Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.
1. What does the small vowel in ファ do?
Show answer
It replaces the vowel of フ: フ (fu) + ァ = ファ (fa), one beat.
2. Read aloud and translate: ファン · ファイル · ファミリー
Show answer
fan (fan) · fairu (file) · famirī (family)
3. Read aloud and translate: フォーク · フィルム · フェリー
Show answer
fōku (fork) · firumu (film) · ferī (ferry)
4. Read aloud and translate: ウェブ · ウィスキー · ウォーク
Show answer
webu (web) · wisukī (whisky) · wōku (walk)
5. What is the difference between ウィ and ウイ?
Show answer
ウィ is one beat (wi); ウイ is two beats (u-i). The size of the small ィ decides.
6. Write in katakana: fan · fōku · webu (check the small characters).
Show answer
ファン · フォーク · ウェブ