What is this sentence?

This is the introduction to みんなの日本語 and it introduces the hiragana symbols and their variant pronunciations. I can’t seem to get a clear answer from translators.

1. かなと 拍

That’s it. Then it shows all the hiragana symbols.

Thanks!

4 comments
  1. I don’t have this book so I have to guess but…

    かな are the kana like, hiragana and katakana

    と is “and” or “with”, probably “and” in this case

    拍 is ~~もら~~ EDIT: モーラ which is “mora” which is each beat/sound you can make in Japanese (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mora_(linguistics))

    so guess what, this is a table of “kana and mora”

  2. It’s just the title chapter meaning “Kana and Mora”. かな refers to the Kana (Hira**gana** and Kata**kana**) and 拍(はく) means beat or mora (the と can be used like an “and” between two nouns). If you don’t know what a mora is, look it up. Also, ask these short questions in the daily thread next time please.

  3. FYI you’re supposed to use the main volume together with the separate translation & grammar notes volume, where the matching chapter wouldn’t only have a translation of the title but also some actual content that goes beyond just a table of kana. If you’re using this in a Japanese class you might not have it (the teacher should provide the explanations), but if you’re studying on your own, you absolutely need it.

  4. That’s a horseshit way to introduce anything in a Japanese textbook. If they are making bad choices like this in the very beginning, assume they will be doing so continuously.

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