10 ms·
It is not complex per se, but it is unnecessarily confusing. For instance, Japanese い (i) is similar in pronunciation to the letter 'i' in various Germanic lan
by Tijdreiziger 4y ago
It is not complex per se, but it is unnecessarily confusing.
For instance, Japanese い (i) is similar in pronunciation to the letter 'i' in various Germanic languages (e.g. Dutch, German, Swedish). The romaji reflects this similarity.
Enter Wanikani's (Tofugu's) explanation:
> い is pronounced like the ee in "eel." To remember this kana, just think of a couple of eels hanging out.
Like I mentioned, this is probably useful for L1 English speakers, but it is not worth having to go from Dutch 'i' to English 'eel' in order to finally go to Japanese い (i).
- bluepizza 4y agoWhen you use the app, not the blog, there are audios with the pronunciation, instead of these approximations. Wanikani is the app I refer to as useful, not Tofugu’s blog.
- Tijdreiziger 4y agoOK, I'll check out the app once I get to studying kanji (still working on kana at the moment). Thanks!