Master Japanese Phonetics: Dakuten (゛) & Handakuten (゜)

Welcome to your first major upgrade in reading and writing Japanese! If you already know your basic Hiragana and Katakana, you are ready to unlock 36 new sounds without learning a single new character.

We do this using two simple diacritical marks: Dakuten and Handakuten.

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1. What are Dakuten and Handakuten?

These are small marks placed at the top-right corner of a Hiragana or Katakana character to change its pronunciation. They are always written last.

• Dakuten (゛): Often called tenten ("dots"). It looks like a double quotation mark. It "voices" a sound, meaning you vibrate your vocal cords.
• Handakuten (゜): Often called maru ("circle"). It looks like a tiny degree symbol. It turns "H" sounds into "P" sounds.

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2. The Dakuten Transformation (The "Voiced" Sounds)

Dakuten turns unvoiced consonants into voiced ones. Think of it as adding a "buzz" to the sound. Four character rows can take a Dakuten:

💡 Elite Tutor Tip: The "Ji" and "Zu" Exceptions

Pay close attention to these irregular sounds:

• し (shi) + ゛ = じ (ji)
• ち (chi) + ゛ = ぢ (ji) (pronounced the same as じ)
• す (su) + ゛ = ず (zu)
• つ (tsu) + ゛ = づ (zu) (pronounced the same as ず)

Which one do I use? 99% of the time, you will use じ (ji) and ず (zu). The characters ぢ and づ are very rare and only used in specific compound words (like hanaji / はなぢ / nosebleed).

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3. The Handakuten Transformation (The "P" Sounds)

The Handakuten (゜) is exclusive. It only pairs with the H-row (は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ). It transforms the soft breathing "H" sound into a crisp, popping "P" sound.

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4. Stroke Order & Placement

To write these marks like a native:

1. Write the base kana completely first.
2. Place the mark in the upper-right clearance of the character.
3. For Dakuten (゛): Write two short, diagonal strokes slanting down from left to right. Write the left stroke first, then the right.
4. For Handakuten (゜): Draw a tiny, perfect circle in one clockwise stroke.

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5. N5 Vocabulary Practice

Let's see these marks in action with essential JLPT N5 vocabulary:

• かぜ (kaze) — Wind / Cold (illness)
• まんが (manga) — Manga / Comic
• たべもの (tabemono) — Food
• てんぷら (tenpura) — Tempura
• ベッド (beddo) — Bed (Katakana)

By mastering these two tiny symbols, you have officially expanded your Japanese reading capacity exponentially. Keep practicing, and look out for these marks in your daily reading!