Challenge 01 Greetings
Hiragana Boot Camp shows 「は」is 「ha」, but in Challenge 1, 「こんにちは」is pronounced as 「konnitiwa」not 「konnitiha」. Why?
There are 2 letters in Hiragana that you can read 2 ways.
- は＝ can be "HA" or "WA"
- へ＝ can be "HE" or "E"
When ”は” and ”へ” are a part of one word, they are read as "HA" and "HE".
When ”は” and ”へ” are used to connect two words, they are read as "WA" and "E".
- はと＝hato = pigeon
- はぶらし= haburasi = toothbrush
"は" above are a part of one word so you read them as "HA".
- あなた は おおきい＝anata wa ookii= you are tall/big.
- このほん は おもしろい＝kono hon wa omosiroi= this book is interesting.
"は" above connect 2 words so you read them as "WA".
- へび＝hebi = snake
- へいわ= heiwa = peace
"へ" above are a part of one word so you read them as "HE".
- がっこう へ いきます＝gakkō e ikimasu= I go to school.
- どこ へ いきたいですか？＝doko e ikitai desuka?= Where do you want to go?
"へ" above connect 2 words so you read them as "E".
Tip & Comment
こんにちは＝kon niti wa ⇒ This is a tough one because it looks like one word. But as you learnt in Challenge 1, this is a shorten form of "Today is・・・." so (originally) it was for connecting 2 words.
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