Paste a Japanese sentence to translate into Romaji and English! Type in a Romaji word to convert to Katakana and translate it to English using Google translate. For example, try " Konpyuutaa ". RomajiDesu Mobile You can access a light version of RomajiDesu that is dedicated to smart phones and tablets.
You will be automatically redirected to this version on a mobile device. It means that some vowel sounds in Japanese words are pronounced with different pitch with high or low tone. In order to understand the Japanese language better, let's compare Japanese with English. The English language has stress accent, which means that stressed vowels are pronounced louder.
In some cases, different stress positions can change the meaning of a word. In the above example, placing stress on the right syllable and pronouncing the words correctly makes the speaker more natural-sounding and easier to understand.
Try pronouncing the word "perfect" both ways in each of the sentences above and feel the difference. The same phenomenon occurs in Japanese which proves to be a difficult obstacle for those trying to master Japanese speaking. Pitch accent helps to distinguish some words that may seem identical when written with kana Japanese alphabet. When a person speaks in Japanese while respecting pitch accent, they sound much more natural compared to someone who neglects this part of Japanese language.
Someone who uses pitch accent incorrectly sounds similar to the way that Gru from the movie Despicable Me sounds to native English speakers. There are several different types of phonetic transcription in Japanese - ways to visually represent the pronunciation of Japanese words:.
Now let's get back to pitch accent and why it can be difficult to learn. The challenge with Japanese pitch accent is not that it is extremely hard to reproduce - the challenge is that it is often disregarded in Japanese textbooks and dictionaries. As a result, it is considered unimportant by students and even their teachers. When you start learning Japanese from a textbook, the first chapter will likely suggest imitating native speakers on Japanese audio recordings in order to master pitch accent and speak in a natural-sound way.
But then the subject is completely dropped! This is a huge oversight for those who desire to learn correct Japanese word pronunciation. As opposed to fully tonal languages like Mandarin Chinese , situations where the accent position changes completely the meaning of a word are relatively rare in Japanese. So when a person speaks Japanese and stresses the wrong vowels, they are understood although often with difficulty.
An average student may think: "If people understand me, why bother learning it? It highlights in different colors the syllables that should be pronounced in high and low pitch. In such cases, the regular dakuten sign for voicing will be replaced by handakuten. We also used the following dictionaries that contain information on pitch accent in Japanese words:. If you are interested in Japanese pitch accent, we highly recommend purchasing at least one of the Japanese dictionaries NHK or Shin Meikai.
Both of them have an introductory section that covers the subject in detail, and this is an invaluable tool for learning how to correctly pronounce Japanese words. The input will be chopped. Lots of new features, and an improved engine. New Feature Click on the star on the popup to favorite words. See image below. Did you know? You can now share your translations. I've added or will shortly add new features such as history, starring vocabulary items, writing notes, substituting translations etc.
Additionally, the parser is more accurate, some words have usage notes, and I'll be adding Japanese lessons etc. In short, with the majority of users using adBlockers which I understand the running costs, which are substantial, are no longer covered by the ads.
Also, there are issues with robots sending huge numbers of translation requests which a login system will prevent. In simple terms, it meant last year I was paying out of pocket to keep the site running!
Ads aren't a good experience anyway, so they are permanently removed for users who donate. As the site is now mobile friendly, there is no need to have an app although I may make one in the future.
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