PA 101: Moras
snphan | Oct. 3, 2021, 8:06 a.m.
Moras!๐
In the world of Japanese pitch accents, these are the basic units of sound (a Japanese equivalent of a syllable) and can have either a low or high pitch.
What is a considered a single mora? Anything that you see here in this list.
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
---|---|---|---|---|
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใก | ใค | ใฆ | ใจ |
ใ | ใข | ใฅ | ใง | ใฉ |
ใฏ | ใฒ | ใต | ใธ | ใป |
ใฐ | ใณ | ใถ | ใน | ใผ |
ใฑ | ใด | ใท | ใบ | ใฝ |
ใช | ใซ | ใฌ | ใญ | ใฎ |
ใพ | ใฟ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ | ใ |
ใ | ใ | |||
ใ | ใ | ใ | ||
ใใ | ใใ | ใใ | ||
ใใ | ใใ | ใใ | ||
ใใ | ใใ | ใใ | ||
ใใ | ใใ | ใใ | ||
ใกใ | ใกใ | ใกใ | ||
ใขใ | ใขใ | ใขใ | ||
ใฒใ | ใฒใ | ใฒใ | ||
ใณใ | ใณใ | ใณใ | ||
ใดใ | ใดใ | ใดใ | ||
ใซใ | ใซใ | ใซใ | ||
ใฟใ | ใฟใ | ใฟใ | ||
ใใ | ใใ | ใใ | ||
ไพๅค: | ใฃ | ใผ | ใ |
Don't worry! You won't need to memorize all of this.
Basically, it boils down to 1 hiragana = 1 mora. The exceptions are as follows:
- Any hiragana combo with a small ใใใใใ because typically they become one sound when contracted with the "main" hirgana such as ใใใใใ ใใฒใใetc. Thus, the word ใใใใ has only 3 moras.
- The small ใฃ such as in ใใฃใจใ. The word ใใฃใจใ would therefore have 4 moras.
- Extensions (ใผ) that you see in Katakana also count as 1 mora such as ใฟใผใฒใใ which has 5 moras.
Let's look at some examples:
Word | Number of Moras |
---|---|
ใพใก | 2 |
ใใใใ | 4 |
ใใใใ | 3 |
ใใใ ใ | 4 |
ใณใผใใผ | 4 |
ใใฃใใใ | 5 |
Check out the quiz to test your understanding ๐