Sound Pronunciation Example Japanese Notes Basic vowel sounds: A FATHER A   I TEETH I   U FOOD U   E BED E   O TOE O     Vowel blends: AI EYE AI Still treated as 2 syllables AU OUCH AU Still treated as 2 syllables EI WAY EI Still treated as 2 syllables OI TOY OI Still treated as 2 syllables OU TOE OU Still treated as 2 syllables   Basic consonant sounds: (used only in the pronunciation of syllables; never alone) K   KEEP KI   G   GOOFY GU   S   SOAP SO   SH   SHEEP SHI   Z   ZOO ZU   J   JEEP JI   T   TOE TO   CH   CHALK CHA   TS   TSUNAMI TSU Said through your teeth D   DONUT DO   N   NEW NU   H   HE HI   F   FOOD FU Somewhere in between Foo and Who (fwhoo). B   BEE BI   P   POKE PO   M   MEN ME   Y   YOU YU   R   MOLDY RI In between R and L and D. Mouth shaped like an R sound but the tongue flicks the roof of your mouth like a D. However, it doesn't touch the roof of your mouth like an L. Be cautious not to make a hard D sound. W   WANDER WA     Consonant only syllable: N   N N Makes an M sound when it is followed by a 'B' or 'M'. A soft NG when it precedes A,I,U,E,O,YA,YU or YO Vashon Kirkman 09/20/2001

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