Dakuten and Handakuten: Reading が, ざ, だ, ば, and ぱ
Learn what the two dots and small circle do, compare hiragana and katakana, and practice the sound distinctions inside familiar Japanese words.
Notice the mark before you guess the word
Compare か and が, then は, ば, and ぱ. A tiny change at the upper right of the character makes an important difference. Dakuten are the pair of small marks; handakuten is the small circle.
Both か and が take one basic rhythmic beat. The dots do not add another syllable after ka. Likewise, “semi-voiced” is a traditional label for the p-row, not an instruction to pronounce a voiced sound halfway or at half volume.
| Mark | Name | Examples | What to remember |
|---|---|---|---|
| ゛ | Dakuten | か→が; さ→ざ; た→だ; は→ば | The consonant changes; no extra beat is added |
| ゜ | Handakuten | は→ぱ; ひ→ぴ; ふ→ぷ; へ→ぺ; ほ→ぽ | The h-row becomes the p-row |
Use the vowel pattern you already know
The chart follows the same a–i–u–e–o arrangement as the basic kana chart. The first four rows are the common voiced rows; the final row is the p-row.
Do not add dots or circles to any character you happen to choose. Learn the established combinations first. More specialized loanword spellings can wait until the basics feel familiar.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| がga Play Japanese pronunciation of が | ぎgi Play Japanese pronunciation of ぎ | ぐgu Play Japanese pronunciation of ぐ | げge Play Japanese pronunciation of げ | ごgo Play Japanese pronunciation of ご |
| ざza Play Japanese pronunciation of ざ | じji Play Japanese pronunciation of じ | ずzu Play Japanese pronunciation of ず | ぜze Play Japanese pronunciation of ぜ | ぞzo Play Japanese pronunciation of ぞ |
| だda Play Japanese pronunciation of だ | ぢji Play Japanese pronunciation of ぢ | づzu Play Japanese pronunciation of づ | でde Play Japanese pronunciation of で | どdo Play Japanese pronunciation of ど |
| ばba Play Japanese pronunciation of ば | びbi Play Japanese pronunciation of び | ぶbu Play Japanese pronunciation of ぶ | べbe Play Japanese pronunciation of べ | ぼbo Play Japanese pronunciation of ぼ |
| ぱpa Play Japanese pronunciation of ぱ | ぴpi Play Japanese pronunciation of ぴ | ぷpu Play Japanese pronunciation of ぷ | ぺpe Play Japanese pronunciation of ぺ | ぽpo Play Japanese pronunciation of ぽ |
VOICEVOX:四国めたん
Read the same distinctions in katakana
Hiragana が, ば, and ぱ correspond to katakana ガ, バ, and パ. In a word such as パン, “bread,” the circle matters just as much as it does in hiragana. When reading quickly, train yourself to check the upper-right corner rather than guessing from the main shape.
| a | i | u | e | o |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ガga Play Japanese pronunciation of ガ | ギgi Play Japanese pronunciation of ギ | グgu Play Japanese pronunciation of グ | ゲge Play Japanese pronunciation of ゲ | ゴgo Play Japanese pronunciation of ゴ |
| ザza Play Japanese pronunciation of ザ | ジji Play Japanese pronunciation of ジ | ズzu Play Japanese pronunciation of ズ | ゼze Play Japanese pronunciation of ゼ | ゾzo Play Japanese pronunciation of ゾ |
| ダda Play Japanese pronunciation of ダ | ヂji Play Japanese pronunciation of ヂ | ヅzu Play Japanese pronunciation of ヅ | デde Play Japanese pronunciation of デ | ドdo Play Japanese pronunciation of ド |
| バba Play Japanese pronunciation of バ | ビbi Play Japanese pronunciation of ビ | ブbu Play Japanese pronunciation of ブ | ベbe Play Japanese pronunciation of ベ | ボbo Play Japanese pronunciation of ボ |
| パpa Play Japanese pronunciation of パ | ピpi Play Japanese pronunciation of ピ | プpu Play Japanese pronunciation of プ | ペpe Play Japanese pronunciation of ペ | ポpo Play Japanese pronunciation of ポ |
VOICEVOX:四国めたん
Listen for a different consonant, not more volume
Alternate か／が, さ／ざ, and especially は／ば／ぱ. Voicing can involve vocal-fold vibration, which you may feel with a light hand at your throat. Treat that as a supporting observation, not a complete rule for every sound in connected speech.
Loudness and English spelling are not reliable substitutes for listening. Reading ga, ba, or pa as though it followed your usual English spelling habits can miss the Japanese sound you are practicing.
| Word | Practice beats | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| 学校, school | が・っ・こ・う | Start with voiced が |
| 電話, telephone | で・ん・わ | Start with voiced で |
| バス, bus | バ・ス | Use バ, not パ |
| パン, bread | パ・ン | Use パ, not バ |
パンを食べます。
Same-sounding kana can still have different spellings
In modern standard Japanese, じ／ぢ and ず／づ are usually pronounced alike or very similarly within each pair. That does not make the written characters interchangeable. 鼻血 is はなぢ, “nosebleed,” and 続く is つづく, “continue.” Check the complete word when the spelling is uncertain.
A quick check
Add dakuten to か, さ, た, and は. Then add handakuten to ひ, ふ, and ほ.
Answers: が, ざ, だ, ば; then ぴ, ぷ, ぽ. Finally, spell the words for bread and bus: パン and バス. Read them as words, not a base character followed by an extra sound for the mark.
Continue with small-kana combinations for ぎゃ, びゅ, and ぴょ. For the writing conventions, see the Agency for Cultural Affairs’ modern kana rules.
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