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アンカー 1

  Chōon, Sokuon, Hatsuon 
Long vowel, double consonant, moraic nasal

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What is the difference between A and B? Listen to the audio.
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The difference between A and B is the presence or absence of the long sound, not in the A, but in the B. If we use the character ー, they are ばあ(バー), チー, くう(クー), めい(メー), コー.
These long sounds are called 長音 (chōon, long vowel). They are pronounced as lengthening the preceding vowel. The tip to pronounce chōon is "length." It is because when the long vowel is shortened, the meaning changes.
What is the difference between A and B? Listen to the audio.
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The difference between A and B is the presence or absence of the small っ, not in the A, but in the B.
This small っ is called 促音 (sokuon, double consonant). It is pronounced to be the same consonant as the following consonant. The letter is small, but its length is almost equal to other letters. Make sure that you have the proper length for the small っ. Otherwise, the meaning changes.
What is the difference between A and B? Listen to the audio.
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The difference between A and B is the presence or absence of ん, not in the A, but in the B.
The letter ん is called 撥音 (hatsuon, moraic nasal). It is pronounced as a nasal sound similar to the following sound. The length of ん is the same as other letters. If your ん sound is not long enough, the meaning can be changed.
Is length important?

The tip to pronounce a long vowel, small っ and ん is their length. These sounds can change the meaning. Look at the following conversation between a teacher and a student. A student is asking how the ん is different between さんま and みんな.
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Chōon, sokuon and hatsuon are special in Japanese. That is why they are called special moras (特殊拍, とくしゅはく). Special moras are always used with other normal moras.

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The actual sound of ん in さんま is "m," and that of ん in みんな is "n." Although the same ん is used, the actual pronunciation is different. Learners may be curious about what the actual sound of ん is, but what native Japanese speakers care about is not the quality of ん, but the quantity of it, namely the length of ん, which is equivalent to other normal moras.

The point is "length." The meaning of a word can be changed depending on whether the sound is short or long. From now on, please pay attention to the length of chōon (long vowel), sokuon (small っ）and hatsuon (ん) when you pronounce them.

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What is "Haku" ?
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Haku (拍) is one of the rhythmic units in Japanese. It is also known as mora. One kana character is counted as one haku (one mora). Small ゃ, ゅ and ょ are counted together with the preceding kana character. Chōon, sokuon and hatsuon are also counted as one haku, respectively.

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Think of the haku as a "clapping" beat, clap your hands and count how many beats there are. Here is a question.

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