１）3 types of Japanese notation

We designed the “Japanese in Anime and Manga” website with all kinds of learners in mind, from beginners through to advanced students. In order to enable every kind of learner to enjoy using the site we chose to employ 3 kinds of notation when giving Japanese expressions and example sentences: (i)kanji mixed with kana, (ii)kana-only (hiragana and katakana) and (iii)romaji.

２）Kana notation

When using kana-only notation the kanji that express a word’s meaning are lost, so if we were to adopt exactly the same punctuation style as in the mix of kanji/kana, it might be difficult to read. With this in mind, for the kana-only notation we chose to use a wakachigaki style (separating words with spaces). The basic rules of this wakachigaki style originate from those used in the Japanese language textbook “Minna no Nihongo” (3A Corporation).

３）Romaji notation

For the romaji notation, we again made reference to the Japanese language textbook “Minna no Nihongo” for the following “Basic Romaji Chart”, which we have used as our foundation.

Basic Romaji Chart

a	あ	ア	i	い	イ	u	う	ウ	e	え	エ	o	お	オ
ka	か	カ	ki	き	キ	ku	く	ク	ke	け	ケ	ko	こ	コ
sa	さ	サ	shi	し	シ	su	す	ス	se	せ	セ	so	そ	ソ
ta	た	タ	chi	ち	チ	tsu	つ	ツ	te	て	テ	to	と	ト
na	な	ナ	ni	に	ニ	nu	ぬ	ヌ	ne	ね	ネ	no	の	ノ
ha	は	ハ	hi	ひ	ヒ	fu	ふ	フ	he	へ	ヘ	ho	ほ	ホ
ma	ま	マ	mi	み	ミ	mu	む	ム	me	め	メ	mo	も	モ
ya	や	ヤ				yu	ゆ	ユ				yo	よ	ヨ
ra	ら	ラ	ri	り	リ	ru	る	ル	re	れ	レ	ro	ろ	ロ
wa	わ	ワ
n	ん	ン										wo	を	ヲ

ga	が	ガ	gi	ぎ	ギ	gu	ぐ	グ	ge	げ	ゲ	go	ご	ゴ
za	ざ	ザ	ji	じ	ジ	zu	ず	ズ	ze	ぜ	ゼ	zo	ぞ	ゾ
da	だ	ダ	ji	ぢ	ヂ	zu	づ	ヅ	de	で	デ	do	ど	ド
ba	ば	バ	bi	び	ビ	bu	ぶ	ブ	be	べ	ベ	bo	ぼ	ボ
pa	ぱ	パ	pi	ぴ	ピ	pu	ぷ	プ	pe	ぺ	ペ	po	ぽ	ポ

kya	きゃ	キャ	kyu	きゅ	キュ	kyo	きょ	キョ
sya	しゃ	シャ	shu	しゅ	シュ	sho	しょ	ショ
cha	ちゃ	チャ	chu	ちゅ	チュ	cho	ちょ	チョ
nya	にゃ	ニャ	nyu	にゅ	ニュ	nyo	にょ	ニョ
hya	ひゃ	ヒャ	hyu	ひゅ	ヒュ	hyo	ひょ	ヒョ
mya	みゃ	ミャ	myu	みゅ	ミュ	myo	みょ	ミョ
rya	りゃ	リャ	ryu	りゅ	リュ	ryo	りょ	リョ

gya	ぎゃ	ギャ	gyu	ぎゅ	ギュ	gyo	ぎょ	ギョ
ja	じゃ	ジャ	ju	じゅ	ジュ	jo	じょ	ジョ
bya	びゃ	ビャ	byu	びゅ	ビュ	byo	びょ	ビョ
pya	ぴゃ	ピャ	pyu	ぴゅ	ピュ	pyo	ぴょ	ピョ

In addition, for sounds unique to Japanese we established the rules below, paying special consideration to the ease of reading the romaji.

Particles are written thus:「は」=「wa」、「へ」=「e」、「を」=「o」.

Ex.：がっこうへいく→gakkou e iku

A hatsuon (‘ん’ kana) in front of the consonant「ｍ、ｂ、ｐ」is written as an「ｍ」.

Ex.：せんぱい→sempai

If the consonant「n」comes after a hatsuon (‘ん’ kana) then a「・」is inserted.

Ex.：こんにちは→kon・nichiwa

If a vowel comes after a hatsuon (‘ん’ kana) then a「・」is inserted.

Ex.：れんあい→ren・ai

After a sokuon (a smallっ), the beat of the following consonant is repeated.

Ex.：やったー→yattaa

A sokuon (a smallっ) at the end of a word is not displayed in the romaji.

Ex.：ごめんねっっ！→gomen・ne!

Long vowels follow the same basic rules as in their hiragana notation. Long vowels in the ‘お’ row are written using「u」.

Ex.：よかろう→yokarou

Long vowels displayed using「ー」in katakana are shown by doubling the vowels when writing in romaji.

Ex.：コーヒー→koohii

Where long vowels shown in hiragana notation using the symbols「ー」or「～」, this is also written by doubling the vowels in the romaji.

Ex.：ばーさん→baasan　わかんない～→wakan・naii

Unlike in English, the first letter of the sentence is not capitalized in the romaji, although a capital letter is used in the case of proper nouns.

Ex.：はるちゃん→Haru chan

The「～」in「～さん」is written as「-」.

Ex.：～くん→- kun

「、」is displayed as「,」and「。」is written as「.」.

Ex.：よーし、行くぞー。→yooshi, ikuzoo.

The basic rules for the romaji wakachigaki (separation of words using spaces) follow those used in the kana version, with the addition of the following:

A space is added before and after a particle.

Ex.：わたしは　ケーキが　すきです。→watashi wa keeki ga sukidesu.

A space is not used before a sentence-ending particle.

Ex.：いきましょうか。→ikimashouka.

A space is added before the「する」in「するverbs」.

Ex.：ゲットする→getto suru

A space is used in cases of「person’s name +さん」.

Ex.：Yoshiko san

The「～」used in「～さん」becomes a「-」in the romaji, with a half-width space before and after the「-」symbol.

４）Typing input in the Kanji Game

The Basic Romaji Chart above forms the basis of the romaji typing input used in the game. In order to cater for different keyboard settings, a slight variation in Japanese romaji input styles etc., we have allowed for several variables when recognising correct answers. However, this is by no means exhaustive, so please make reference to the chart when typing. As the kanji works with single units of vocabulary (including idiomatic phrases) wakachigaki spaces such as those outlined above are not used.

Ex.：

忍術（にんじゅつ）→ninjutsu
先手を打つ（せんてをうつ）→senteoutsu

５）Onomatopoeia in ’Expressions by scene’

In the ‘Expressions by scene’ section, giongo (onomatopoeic words that depict a sound) and gitaigo (words that mimic an action) used in the manga and the onomatopoeia quiz are only displayed using kana (no kanji/kana mix or romaji). A corresponding English version of each word is shown.