J
ジャジュジョ — The J Row
01
Read “ja, ju, jo”
The J set is a full-size ジ (ji — シ with a dakuten) plus a small ャ, ュ, or ョ: ジ + ャ = ジャ (ja), ジ + ュ = ジュ (ju), ジ + ョ = ジョ (jo), one syllable each. Because the base is ジ, the readings are “ja/ju/jo,” and they carry the English “j” into loanwords like jam, juice, and jogging.
One syllable: ジャ is “ja,” one beat — not “ji-ya” or “zya.” Two pairs of marks to keep straight: シ's two left marks and the dakuten's two ticks at the top, plus the small ャ ュ ョ below.
02
Pronunciation at a glance
03
Loanwords with the J kana
The J kana open a wide field of everyday loanwords. Here are two for each.
ジャムjamujam
ジャズjazujazz
ジュースjūsujuice
ジュエリーjuerījewelry
ジョギングjogingujogging
ジョークjōkujoke
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What's next
Next is the BY set (ビャ ビュ ビョ) — built on ビ (ヒ with a dakuten), and read “bya, byu, byo.”