When you first start learning a new language you need to find some common ground between your language and the language that you are learning. If you are learning Japanese you might find this quite difficult because your first language is probably completely different from Japanese. This is where Katakana words come in. These are words that are not originally Japanese and come from other languages, these loan words are really useful when you’re just starting out, they can help you make the connection between your own language and the new language that you are learning. Katakana words are also used for scientific and technical terms, onomatopoeia and often for naming companies.
Here are some common loan words and how to pronounce them in Japanese. These are good to get you started when you are beginning to learn Japanese.
To say beer in Japanese is ビーリ (pronounced Biiru)
To say coffee in Japanese is コーヒー (pronounced kou-hii)
When there is a line inbetween the symbols like this ー it means you extend the sound as you say it. So it’s not ko hi but kou hii and it’s biiru. The i い is pronounced ee. so It sounds more like Bee-Ru as in Bumble Bee. Imagine a bumble bee drinking a beer as a mnemonic to remember it.
To say hotel in Japanese is ホテル (pronounced ho-te-ru)
To say juice in Japanese is ジュース (pronounced Juu-su)
To say TV in Japanese is テレビ (pronounced te-re-bi)
To say pasta in Japanese is パスタ (pronounced pa-su-ta)
To say table in Japanese テーブル (pronounced te-bu-ru) The te テ sound is prounced like teh.
To say pen in Japanese is ペン (pronounced pen)
To say America in Japanese is アメリカ (pronounced A-me-ri-ka)
To say Russia in Japanese is ロシア (pronounced Ro-shi-a)
To say party in Japanese is パーティー (pronounced Par-tee)
To say dress in Japanese is ドレス (pronounced do-re-su)
To say shirt in Japanese is シャツ (pronounced sha-tsu)
To say restaurant in Japanese is レストラン (pronounced re-su-to-ran)
To say hamburger in Japanese is ハンバーガー (pronounced han-ba-gar)
To say cafe in Japanese is カフェ (pronounced Cafe)
To say waiter in Japanese is ウェイター (pronounced U-e-i-taa) So don’t forget the “e” sound is pronounced “eh” and the i sound is pronounced “ee”
To say sofa in Japanese is ソファ (pronounced sofa)
To say France in Japanese is フランス (pronounced Fu-ran-su)
To say Cake in Japanese is ケーキ (pronounced Ke-ki) don’t forget to extend the sound in the middle, so a long ke- ki)
To say tour in Japanese is ツアー (pronounced tsu-a-)
To say Chocolate in Japanese is チョコレート (pronounced Cho-ko-re–to)
To say Chocolate cake in Japanese is チョコレートケーキ (pronounced Cho-ko-re–to-Ke–ki)
To say Hot Chocolate in Japanese is ホットチョコレート (pronounced Ho-tto-cho-ko-re–to)
To say mug in Japanese is マグカップ (pronounced Ma-gu-ka-pu)
To say Chicken sandwich in Japanese is チキンサンド (pronounced chi-ki-n-san-do)
To say sandwich in Japanese is サンド (san-do) Or you can say サンドウィッチ (pronounced San-do-ui-chi) so it’s no san doo but san -doh.
To say cheese sandwich is チーズサンド (Chi–zu-san-do)
To say Pizza in Japanese is ピザ (Pi-za)
To say Toilet in Japanese is トイレ (toi-re) sounds like toy-reh)
To say wine in Japanese is ワイン (Pronounced wa-in wine)
To say red wine in Japanese is 赤ワイン (pronounced a-ka-wine) 赤 is a Kanji character which means red.
To say white wine in Japanese is 白ワイン (pronounced shiro-wine)白 is a Kanji character which means white.
To say Chopin in Japanese is ショパン (pronounced Sho-pan)