So... u wanna learn japanese, Lesson 2

In certain circumstances (particularly at the end of words) u disappears in ordinary speech, so desu is pronounced dess

i disappears in some words, for example shi often becomes sh', so deshita is pronounced desh'ta

fu is pronounced halfway between fu and hu - try breathing gently between parted lips.

Japanese r is very different from English - part way between r and l. To pronounce it correctly the tongue must touch the palate just behind the teeth. Try to listen to native speakers or tapes.

Normally g is pronounced hard (as in English get) but some Japanese consider it more refined to pronounce it nasally (as if there were an n in front of it) when it occurs in the middle or last syllable of a word - for example arigatô (thank you) is often pronounced aringatô.

Take care with the double consonants kk, pp, ss and tt. There is a slight pause between them, as in the English book'keeping, map'pocket, gas'station and last'time.

Note also that the combined consonants such as kyu, hyo must be pronounced cleanly as a single sound. Thus hyu is pronounced as in the English 'huge' and not as in 'he uses'.