About the Japanese 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).

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

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.

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.

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.