1.
semi-voiced sound; p-sounds in Japanese kana
The set of Japanese syllables beginning with the 'p' sound (ぱ行), indicated by a small circle (゜) added to the は行 kana. The five semi-voiced sounds are: ぱ (pa), ぴ (pi), ぷ (pu), ぺ (pe), ぽ (po).
「ぱ」は半濁音です。
'Pa' is a semi-voiced sound.
半濁音は半濁点（゜）をつけて表す。
Semi-voiced sounds are indicated by adding a handakuten (゜) mark.
日本語の半濁音は「は行」にしかなく、ぱ・ぴ・ぷ・ぺ・ぽの五つだけだ。
Japanese semi-voiced sounds only exist in the ha-row, consisting of just five: pa, pi, pu, pe, po.
A Japanese phonetics term composed of 半 (half/semi), 濁 (voicing), and 音 (sound). The name literally means 'half-voiced sound,' reflecting the historical analysis that p-sounds were considered intermediate between the voiceless h-sounds (清音) and the voiced b-sounds (濁音).
THE KANA SYSTEM:
Japanese kana are organized into three phonetic categories:
- 清音: voiceless/clear sounds — the basic kana (か, さ, た, は, etc.)
- 濁音: voiced sounds — marked with 濁点 (゛): が, ざ, だ, ば
- 半濁音: semi-voiced sounds — marked with 半濁点 (゜): ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 半濁音の発音: pronunciation of semi-voiced sounds
- 半濁点: the circle diacritic mark (゜)
- は行の半濁音: the semi-voiced sounds of the ha-row
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 濁音: voiced sounds — b, d, g, z sounds marked with 濁点 (゛)
- 清音: voiceless/clear sounds — the basic unmarked kana
- 撥音: the nasal sound 'n' (ん)
- 拗音: contracted sounds — small や, ゆ, よ combinations (きゃ, しゅ, ちょ, etc.)