How do you say ??

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Hi folks

How do you say 1 person in Japanese and 2 people.

Can you try and break it in to phonetics Im having real problems picking this up from the audio example of the Pimsleurs language course. :sorry:

Thanks in advance.

 

[MeAndroo]

Are you talking about hitori and futari?

 

[Kansai]

Hi folks

How do you say 1 person in Japanese and 2 people.

Can you try and break it in to phonetics Im having real problems picking this up from the audio example of the Pimsleurs language course. :sorry:

Thanks in advance.

Do you mean hi-to-ri (1 person) and fu-ta-ri (2 people) ?

 

[slider]

Do you mean hi-to-ri (1 person) and fu-ta-ri (2 people) ?

yes thanks are they pronounced pretty much like the Romanji cause to me they sound nothing like the way they are spelt..

 

[Glenn]

Well, that's a question of Japanese phonetics. Basically, just know that the letters we use for Japanese words don't really equal the Japanese sounds for those letters as we use them. That is, the "h" in ひ sounds a lot like "sh" to us native English speakers, so it isn't really "h" in that instance. I hope this doesn't confuse or scare you (or both). Just listen and do your best to imitate the native speakers. That's the best advice I can give you. :sorry:

 

[slider]

Well, that's a question of Japanese phonetics. Basically, just know that the letters we use for Japanese words don't really equal the Japanese sounds for those letters as we use them. That is, the "h" in ひ sounds a lot like "sh" to us native English speakers, so it isn't really "h" in that instance. I hope this doesn't confuse or scare you (or both). Just listen and do your best to imitate the native speakers. That's the best advice I can give you. :sorry:

I must admit now you mention the 'sh sound' the word hitori does sound like shitori and futari sounds more like hutari so Ill keep listening anyone else find these words difficult or is it just me ?

 

[Mike Cash]

Just you. (Just kidding).

Am I alone in not hearing the "h" in ひ as "sh"?

 

[Elizabeth]

I must admit now you mention the 'sh sound' the word hitori does sound like shitori and futari sounds more like hutarli so Ill keep listening anyone else find these words difficult or is it just me ?

The vowel sound 'i' is always pronounced faintly after 'hi,' so there is nothing really noteworthy about hitori. It may sometimes sound more like the English 'he'...but not really 'sh' to me either.

 

[Damicci]

Ｙｅａｈ Ｉ ｈａｖｅ ｔｏ ｓａｙ Ｉ ｄｏｎ'ｔ ｈｅａｒ ａ ｓｈｅ ｉｎ ｔｈｅｒｅ ｅｉｔｈｅｒ．
MY teacher used to tell me to almost make an "f" sound but try to mix it with an "h"
so it's not completely a H nor a F Kind of a mixture between the two.
Imagine your teeth almost touching your bottom lip for the F sound but stopping right before touching. that should generate the sound for you.

 

[slider]

Thanks guys Ive only been studying a few months now so perhaps I am being way too hard on myself its only recently that Ive managed to form that 'ru' sound.

 

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Where can I hear these words hitori and futari on the web anyone any ideas ??

 

[Glenn]

Just you. (Just kidding).

Am I alone in not hearing the "h" in ひ as "sh"?

How do you hear it?

It doesn't sound exactly like "sh" to me, either. It sounds like they're restricting the airflow through the mouth by raising the middle of the tongue to nearly touch the palate. But it doesn't sound like I pronounce "h" as in "he."

 

[ralian]

In Tokyo dialect, 'hi" is pronounced closed to "shi".

 

[slider]

In Tokyo dialect, 'hi" is pronounced closed to "shi".

Thank you !!! I thought I was going insane