ANSWERS: 2
  • Same with when there's an 'uu' sound in hiragana - they drop off the second 'u'. They also drop off one 'a' whenever there's 'aa'. Examples: Actual pronounciation Kou = Ko in Romaji Kyuu = kyu Kyuushuu = kyushu Ousaka = osaka Tokyou = tokyo Sayounara = sayonara Saataa andaagii = saataa andaagii Yuu = yu
  • {Are you getting your examples from "Azumanga Daioh"? I'm not criticizing, I think it's cute. ^_^} When you refer to a 'long vowel' in Japanese, that's exactly what is meant- a vowel that is held for a beat longer than it would be normally. So "kyu" and "kyuu" are *not* the same, because "kyuu" technically has an extra syllable. And it DOES make a difference. The word "ningyo" means 'mermaid' whereas "ningyou" means 'doll'. Once you're used to it, you *can* hear the difference in length. Normally a vowel is lengthened by being doubled (ii, uu, aa, etc.) but an "o" is usually lengthened by adding a "u". In fact, "Osaka" is one of them- it's written in kana "Oosaka", not "Ousaka". Tokyo, however, is written "Toukyou". Also, "e" tends to be lengthened by adding an "i", like in "eiga", meaning 'movie'. The only exception I can think of off the top of my head for that one is "oneesan", or 'elder sister'. So, the long vowels are as follows: aa, ii, uu, ee/ei, and oo/ou Hope this was helpful! ^_^

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