Title: MinicoreJapanese-EN / Lesson 0
Tags: MinicoreJapanese-EN lesson-00 sentence

MinicoreJapanese: a
Native: あ
English: ah — as in 'father'
Notes: i
u
e
o
The two to watch: u is said with relaxed, unrounded lips (not the tight English "oo"), and o stays pure — English speakers glide "go" into "gow"; Japanese o just stops.

MinicoreJapanese: ue
Native: うえ
English: up / above
Literal: u·e — 2 beats, two separate vowels
Notes: No diphthongs. When two vowels sit together, each keeps its full identity. This word is u then e — two clean beats, no blending.

MinicoreJapanese: hai
Native: はい
English: yes
Literal: ha·i — 2 beats
Notes: iie
hai is not English "high" — it's ha + i, two beats. And iie is i, i again, e: three beats. Count them in the audio.

MinicoreJapanese: tamago
Native: 卵
English: egg
Literal: ta·ma·go — 3 even beats
Notes: Three beats, perfectly even: ta-ma-go. Resist the English urge to stress the middle (ta-MA-go) — keep it flat.

MinicoreJapanese: konnichiwa
Native: こんにちは
English: hello / good day
Literal: ko·n·ni·chi·wa — 5 beats
Notes: sumimasen
Five beats each. sumimasen will become the single most useful word you own (Lesson 1) — for now, just get its rhythm: su-mi-ma-se-n, flat and even.

MinicoreJapanese: Tookyoo
Native: 東京
English: Tokyo
Literal: to·o·kyo·o — 4 beats
Notes: Oosaka
koohii
"Tokyo" is not to-kyo (2 beats) — it's to-o-kyo-o, four beats. Hold each long vowel like a musical note that lasts twice as long.

MinicoreJapanese: biru
Native: ビル
English: building
Literal: bi·ru — 2 beats
Notes: biiru
One held beat is the entire difference between a building and a beer. Order carefully.

MinicoreJapanese: kado
Native: かど
English: street corner
Literal: ka·do — 2 beats
Notes: kaado
Same again: kaado (card — you'll use this one at every register) has a held first vowel that kado (corner) doesn't.

MinicoreJapanese: obasan
Native: おばさん
English: aunt / ma'am
Literal: o·ba·sa·n — 4 beats
Notes: obaasan
The classic warning pair: hold the a one beat too long and you've aged someone thirty years.

MinicoreJapanese: kippu
Native: 切符
English: ticket
Literal: ki·p·pu — 3 beats, the middle one is held silence
Notes: chotto
massugu
kippu: say ki, close your lips for the p and hold one beat of silence, then release into pu. Three beats, one of them silent.

MinicoreJapanese: oto
Native: おと
English: sound
Literal: o·to — 2 beats
Notes: otto
Another meaning-changing pair: the held beat is the only difference between a sound and a husband.

MinicoreJapanese: konbini
Native: コンビニ
English: convenience store
Literal: ko·n·bi·ni — 4 beats
Notes: ginkou
konbanwa
konbini is not "kon-bi-ni" said fast — it's ko, then a full beat on n, then bi-ni. Four beats. Give the n its space and you'll instantly sound more Japanese.

MinicoreJapanese: ramen
Native: ラーメン
Literal: ra·a·me·n — 4 beats
Notes: hidari
resutoran
arerugii
Say "ladder" a few times, isolate that middle tap, then use it for every r above. Don't overthink it — even a plain English l is closer to the target than an English r.

MinicoreJapanese: desu
Native: です
English: is / am / are (the polite ending)
Literal: de·su — 2 beats, sounds like 'dess'
Notes: onegaishimasu
suki
desu sounds like "dess," every verb ending in -masu sounds like "mahss," and suki sounds like "ski." Copy what you hear, not the spelling — but keep the beat count.

MinicoreJapanese: takushii
Native: タクシー
English: taxi
Literal: ta·ku·shi·i — 4 beats
Notes: arigatou gozaimasu
kuukou
kitte
chikatetsu
If you can echo these with even rhythm, correct beat counts, and held long vowels, you're calibrated. Everything from Lesson 1 onward builds on exactly this skill — the words will be new, but the sounds never will be.