A long vowel is pronounced twice as long as the ordinary vowels  あ、い、う、え、お。If you count the length of the vowel あ  as one, the length of the long vowel ああ is counted as two. Whether a vowel is long or not can change the meaning of the word.

longvowels The long vowels in hiragana, Katakana

Ex,

おばさん-obasan:aunt、おばあさん-obaasan: grandmother

おじさん-ojisan:uncle 、おじいさん-ojiisan:grandfather

ゆき-yuki:snow 、ゆうき-yuuki:courage

え-e:picture, ええ-ee:yes

とる-toru:take, とおる-touru:pass

ここ-koko:here 、こうこう-koukou:high schooll

Note: How to write the long vowels in hiragana?!

  • The long vowels of the あ line

Add  あto the hiragana letters belonging to the line

  • The long vowels of the い line

Add  いto the hiragana letters belonging to the line

  • The long vowels of the う line

Add  うto the hiragana letters belonging to the line

  • The long vowels of the え line

Add  いto the hiragana letters belonging to the line (exceptions: ええ:

yes、おねえさん: elder sister)

  • The long vowels of the お line

Add  うto the hiragana letters belonging to the line(exceptions: おおきい:

big、おおい: many, とおい:far…)

 

How to write the long vowels in katakana : add ‘―’

Eg.,

カード-kaado:Card, タクシー-takushi:taxi, スーパー-suupaa: supermarket, テープ-teepu:tape, ノート-nooto notebook