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