So I just started leaning japanese and i was wondering.. The kana for “u” is “う”, right? So then why is it at the end of “ohayō” as in “おはよう” even though the first “O” is written normally. What is the difference?
This might be a dumb question but i’m really eager to learn the language and i couldn’t find an answer just by browsing.
3 comments
The う at the end of おはよう elongates the vowel sound at the end of よ. That’s why there’s a macron (which I just learned what the line over a letter is called!) on the o in the romanized version.
As mentioned う comes after お or other kana with o in it like と よ or ご etc it lengthens the vowel sound. I can’t emphasize how important making an effort to properly lengthen the sound of the vowel when speaking because foe example in English we don’t really have this concept and it is very confusing to Japanese if you don’t do this when you speak. For example 助教 jokyou and 状況 jyoukyou are completely different words. I’m pointing this out at the start of your Japanese journey because if you think “eh, whatever” Japanese people will figure out what you are saying by context but you won’t really be speaking Japanese and this habit is really hard to break once you don’t do it right as I know first hand.
It’s an elongation of the sound. It’s used often in other words and very important when pronouncing. If you neglect to pronounce words with their elongation you may be stared at with a confused look. So, absolutely try to learn these elongations. They are important and can be the difference between being understood and misunderstood.
However, there are words that do become shortened or changed simply due to the language evolving. おはよう is a good example. Though it has the elongation う many people will cut it out in more casual speech. This is an exception and not the rule. When speaking formally you would absolutely want to keep the う in. Don’t go up to your boss with a casual おはよ.