The 46 sounds on the so-called hiragana chart are mainly written and pronounced in Japanese. In addition, there are other characters with small dots or circles above the letters, as well with smaller “ぁぃぅぇぉ”, “ゃゅょ”, and “っ”, so in reality, many more sounds can be expressed.
This series will explain the 46 characters on the hiragana chart, 25 hiragana and katakana characters with dots and circles above them, and their pronunciations.
The 「ま」 Column: ま, み, む, め, も
Pronunciation of each letter
「まみむめも」 (“m” sound)
[ま・み・む・め・も]
Mouth position: Press the lips onto each other slightly.
Air release: Allow air to flow through the nose.
Vocal cord vibration: Yes (Voiced)
ま
“m” sound + [あ]
み
“m” sound + [い]
む
“m” sound + [う]
め
“m” sound + [え]
も
“m” sound + [お]
Samples of handwriting
The previous sound: The Japanese ぱ(“pa”) column
The next sound: The Japanese や(“ya”) column