Hi I am new to the course and had a question on the "u" in ohayo gozaimasu. Sometimes it is silent (not pronounced) but other times it is (I have been watching some animes in which they pronounce it). When I say pronounced I mean the words ends with the "oo" sound like "look" in Englsih. Can anyone tell me why it flips back and forth? I was geussing it had something to do with dialects, but I honestly have no idea. Domo arigato gozai mashita.
ohayo gozaimasu. silent, sometimes not?
timkern
June 16, 2009
K73SK
June 16, 2009
from what I understand, you only pronounce the u (only a little) when adding emphasize. Otherwise it is silent.
timkern
June 17, 2009
hmmm that would make sense, thanks for the reply! sayanara!
Sayaka-Matsuura
June 18, 2009
Timkern-san, Welcome to Rocket Japanese!
Your question is extremely important to mastering Japanese...
"Good Morning" in Japanese is written:
Romaji "Ohayō gozaimasu"
Hiragana おはようございます
The vowel "u" is a whispered vowel - that is, it's voiceless. Whenever a word ends in a consonant-vowel combination, the vowel disappears.
So, おはようございます would be pronounced "Ohayohh gozaimas"
Sayaka :lol:
K73SK
June 18, 2009
so sayaka, when pronouncing the u a little, it is adding emphasize, correct? Cause myself, I have heard the pronunciation as well...not all the time though :p
Sayaka-Matsuura
June 18, 2009
Sō desu ne... Yes, it does add emphasis and sometimes in colloquial Japanese, a teenager may say the "SU" in *Arigatō gozaimaSU* very loud - but it may come out to be somewhat rude. :cry:
timkern
June 19, 2009
domo arigato gozai mashita sayaka san
Sayaka-Matsuura
June 21, 2009
*Dō itashimashite!*
You are very welcome :P - Sayaka
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