Dakuten and Handakuten: How to Change Hiragana Sounds (G, Z, D, B, P)

🎙️ The Voice of Japan: Unlocking Deeper Sounds with Two Tiny Marks

If you’ve taken the first brave steps into learning Japanese, you’ve likely conquered the basic 46 characters of Hiragana. That’s a huge win! You can confidently read $ka$, $sa$, $ta$, and $ha$. But here’s where the fun really begins, and where a tiny pair of marks transforms your Japanese vocabulary: the Dakuten (濁点) and the Handakuten (半濁点).

These two little diacritics—one resembling a quotation mark ( $”$ ) and the other a small circle ( $\circ$ )—are the keys to doubling the number of sounds you can produce. They are absolutely critical not just for reading, but for understanding how Japanese words are actually spoken in the real world. Without them, you’re stuck saying tako (たこ – octopus) when you meant to say dako (だこ – a less common term for a kind of kite), or you might say kagi (かぎ – oyster) when you meant kagi (かぎ – key). Wait, they sound similar? No, they don’t! That second kagi is actually gagi! See how important these marks are?

In this comprehensive guide, built for the serious beginner and intermediate JLPT student alike, we will demystify these powerful hiragana diacritics, give you practical insights into their pronunciation, and show you exactly where to find those critical da hiragana, ba hiragana, and pa hiragana sounds that are vital for passing the N5 and N4 levels.

If you haven’t yet mastered the basic syllabary, I highly recommend starting with The Definitive Guide to Hiragana: How to Read, Write, and Master the Japanese Phonetic Script – JLPT Samurai

💡 The Core Concept: Voiced vs. Unvoiced Consonants

To really understand the $Dakuten$ and $Handakuten$, you need to grasp a core linguistic concept: the difference between voiced and unvoiced sounds.

1. Unvoiced Sounds (清音 – Seion): These are your basic $k$, $s$, $t$, and $h$ sounds. Try saying ka. Your vocal cords don’t vibrate. They are ‘clear’ sounds.
2. Voiced Sounds (濁音 – Dakuon): These are sounds where your vocal cords do vibrate. Try saying ga. That vibration is the key difference! They are ‘muddy’ or ‘turbid’ sounds—hence the character 濁 (daku).
3. Half-Voiced Sounds (半濁音 – Handakuon): This is a special, in-between category for the $p$ sound, which we’ll cover later.

The Dakuten is simply a visual instruction to turn an unvoiced consonant into its voiced partner. It’s a wonderful, efficient system: one symbol, two possible sounds!

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1. The Dakuten (濁点): Turning Up the Volume

The hiragana dakuten ( $”$ ) is colloquially called ten-ten (点々 – “dot dot”) by Japanese kids, which is a great, human way to remember it! It’s added to the top-right corner of a select few base characters, instantly transforming their sound.

The Dakuten affects four rows of the hiragana chart:

Base Character Row	Unvoiced (Clear Sound)	With Dakuten (Voiced Sound)	Sound Shift
K-Row	か, き, く, け, こ (ka, ki, ku, ke, ko)	が, ぎ, ぐ, げ, ご (ga, gi, gu, ge, go)	K → G
S-Row	さ, し, す, せ, そ (sa, shi, su, se, so)	ざ, じ, ず, ぜ, ぞ (za, ji, zu, ze, zo)	S → Z/J
T-Row	た, ち, つ, て, と (ta, chi, tsu, te, to)	だ, ぢ, づ, で, ど (da, ji, zu, de, do)	T → D/J/Z
H-Row	は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ (ha, hi, fu, he, ho)	ば, び, ぶ, べ, ぼ (ba hiragana, bi, bu, be, bo)	H → B

A. K-Row: K $\rightarrow$ G

This is the most straightforward conversion.

• か (ka) $\rightarrow$ が (ga)
• Examples: $ka$ is in kasa (かさ – umbrella), but が (ga) is in megane (めがね – glasses).
• Practice: When you worked on the The K-Row Hiragana: Ka, Ki, Ku, Ke, Ko – Your First Consonants – JLPT Samurai, you learned to stop the air flow for the k sound. Now, just add your voice!

B. S-Row: S $\rightarrow$ Z (and the tricky one: Sh $\rightarrow$ J)

This row is mostly simple, but watch out for that middle one!

• さ (sa) $\rightarrow$ ざ (za)
• し (shi) $\rightarrow$ じ (ji) $\rightarrow$ This is the exception! The soft ‘sh’ sound turns into a soft ‘j’ sound, like the ‘J’ in “Jeep.” It is not a harsh English ‘z-i’ sound.
• す (su) $\rightarrow$ ず (zu)
• Examples: $sa$ is in sakana (さかな – fish), but ざ (za) is in kazari (かざり – decoration). The crucial じ (ji) is in jikan (じかん – time). The The S-Row Hiragana: Sa, Shi, Su, Se, So (and Why ‘Shi’ is Special) laid the groundwork for this unique shift.

C. T-Row: T $\rightarrow$ D (and the rarely-seen $\text{ぢ}$ and $\text{づ}$)

This is where things get a little academic, but don’t panic. The pronunciation is actually quite simple. The $d$ sounds are essential, giving you your first key da hiragana.

• た (ta) $\rightarrow$ だ (da) $\rightarrow$ The most common in this set, like in daigaku (だいがく – university).
• て (te) $\rightarrow$ で (de) $\rightarrow$ Often used as a particle, but also in words like denki (でんき – electricity).
• と (to) $\rightarrow$ ど (do) $\rightarrow$ Like in dōzo (どうぞ – please/go ahead).

Now for the complex pair:

• ち (chi) $\rightarrow$ ぢ (ji)
• つ (tsu) $\rightarrow$ づ (zu)

The Insider’s Tip: In modern standard Japanese, ぢ (ji) is pronounced exactly the same as じ (ji), and づ (zu) is pronounced exactly the same as ず (zu).

So, when do you use them? They are rarely used, but almost exclusively appear in a phenomenon called Rendaku (連濁 – sequential voicing) when two words combine:

• Hana (はな – nose) + chi (ち – blood) $\rightarrow$ Hanaji (はなぢ – nosebleed). Notice how ち became ぢ.
• Tsuzuku (つづく – to continue) $\rightarrow$ The root has a doubled sound.

For the JLPT, just remember that ざじずぜぞ are the common, everyday characters. You’ll encounter the T-Row Hiragana: Ta, Chi, Tsu, Te, To – Avoiding Common Mistakes often, but its dakuten variants less so.

D. H-Row: H $\rightarrow$ B

This is another simple, high-frequency conversion, giving us the key ba hiragana. When learning The H-Row Hiragana: Ha, Hi, Fu, He, Ho – Mastering the ‘Fu’ Sound, you focused on an airy, unvoiced consonant. Now, turn on your voice!

• は (ha) $\rightarrow$ ば (ba) $\rightarrow$ Essential for words like boku (ぼく – I, male-use).
• ひ (hi) $\rightarrow$ び (bi) $\rightarrow$ Like in bijutsu (びじゅつ – fine art).
• ふ (fu) $\rightarrow$ ぶ (bu) $\rightarrow$ Like in budō (ぶどう – grapes).
• へ (he) $\rightarrow$ べ (be) $\rightarrow$ Like in benkyō (べんきょう – study).
• ほ (ho) $\rightarrow$ ぼ (bo) $\rightarrow$ Like in bōshi (ぼうし – hat).

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2. The Handakuten (半濁点): The Half-Voiced ‘P’ Sound

The Handakuten ( $\circ$ ), or maru (丸 – “circle”), is the smaller, more exclusive club of Japanese diacritics. It only applies to a single row: the H-Row.

It represents the Half-Voiced Sound (Handakuon), which is the transformation of the ‘H’ sound into a ‘P’ sound.

Base Character Row	Unvoiced (H-Row)	With Handakuten (Half-Voiced Sound)	Sound Shift
H-Row	は, ひ, ふ, へ, ほ (ha, hi, fu, he, ho)	ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ (pa hiragana, pi, pu, pe, po)	H → P

This is another simple, high-frequency set, giving us the important pa hiragana.

• は (ha) $\rightarrow$ ぱ (pa) $\rightarrow$ Like in pan (パン – bread, borrowed word).
• ひ (hi) $\rightarrow$ ぴ (pi) $\rightarrow$ Like in pikapika (ぴかぴか – glittering).
• ふ (fu) $\rightarrow$ ぷ (pu) $\rightarrow$ Like in purin (プリン – pudding, borrowed word).
• へ (he) $\rightarrow$ ぺ (pe) $\rightarrow$ Like in pen (ペン – pen, borrowed word).
• ほ (ho) $\rightarrow$ ぽ (po) $\rightarrow$ Like in poketto (ポケット – pocket, borrowed word).

Expert Insight: Why is ‘P’ called “half-voiced”? Because linguistically, ‘B’ is the fully voiced version of ‘P’, and ‘B’ itself is derived from ‘H’ with a Dakuten. Historically, the ‘H’ sounds ($ha, hi, fu, he, ho$) were originally pronounced more like ‘P’ sounds and then shifted to ‘F’ and ‘H’. The Handakuten is a historical marker that brings the sound back to its original ‘P’ pronunciation! It’s a fascinating glimpse into the evolution of the language.

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3. The Power of Combination: Dakuten, Handakuten, and Yōon

If you combine the Dakuten and Handakuten with the small $ya, yu, yo$ characters (known as $Yōon$), you unlock a massive new range of sounds that are vital for modern Japanese, especially for foreign loan words.

This is a key next step once you have mastered the basics of combination sounds, which you can read about in Mastering Compound Sounds: Yōon and the Tiny TSU (っ) for Double Consonants.

Base Character	Yōon with Dakuten	Yōon with Handakuten	Examples
き (ki) $\rightarrow$ ぎ (gi)	ぎゃ (gya), ぎゅ (gyu), ぎょ (gyo)	N/A	Gyūnyū (ぎゅうにゅう – milk)
し (shi) $\rightarrow$ じ (ji)	じゃ (ja), じゅ (ju), じょ (jo)	N/A	Jyūsu (ジュース – juice), jōbu (じょうぶ – strong)
ち (chi) $\rightarrow$ ぢ (ji)	ぢゃ, ぢゅ, ぢょ (Rarely Used)	N/A	Chijimeru (ちぢめる – to shrink) – Note the $chi + ji$ pattern.
ひ (hi) $\rightarrow$ び (bi)	びゃ (bya), びゅ (byu), びょ (byo)	ぴゃ (pya), ぴゅ (pyu), ぴょ (pyo)	Byōin (びょういん – hospital), roppyaku (ろっぴゃく – six hundred)

JLPT N4/N3 Insight: The $ja, ju, jo$ sounds (じゃ, じゅ, じょ) are incredibly common and appear everywhere, from jōzu (上手 – skilled) to shōyu (しょうゆ – soy sauce, notice the combination of $shi$ and $yo$ to get sho before the dakuten). These combined sounds are non-negotiable for intermediate mastery.

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4. Practical Application: Why Memorization Alone Isn’t Enough

As a Japanese language and JLPT expert, I can tell you that simply memorizing a chart is not enough for fluid Japanese. The real goal is to recognize the sound change instantly and apply it in context. Here’s how you can humanize your learning process:

A. The “Vocal Chord Check” Trick

When you encounter a character with a hiragana dakuten ( $”$ ):

1. Say the original, unvoiced character in your head (e.g., ka).
2. Place two fingers on your throat.
3. Say the new, voiced sound (ga), and feel the vibration.

This physical association helps your brain link the visual mark to the physical action of voicing the sound. It’s much more effective than rote memorization. This simple trick is especially useful when studying the Mastering the 5 Hiragana Vowels: Mnemonics, Stroke Order, and Pronunciation.

B. Reading Practice: Spotting the ‘Ten-Ten’

The more you see these marks in context, the faster your recognition will be. Don’t rely solely on flashcards. Find words written only in hiragana and try to read them aloud.

• Try words like: gakkō (がっこう – school), zutto (ずっと – forever), densha (でんしゃ – train), bento (べんとう – lunchbox), pēji (ページ – page).

You’ll notice that many common everyday words, and even loan words written in Katakana, rely heavily on these voiced and half-voiced sounds. For a start, practice with 50 Must-Know Basic Japanese Words Written Only in Hiragana.

C. Handwriting and Stroke Order

The Dakuten and Handakuten are written after the main character is complete. While it seems minor, maintaining correct From Pen to Page: A Guide to Proper Hiragana Stroke Order and Handwriting is important for neatness, especially on the character that gives you da hiragana ($\text{だ}$).

• Dakuten ($\text{”}$): Two small strokes, written top to bottom, left to right. They should be clear and not merge with the main character.
• Handakuten ($\text{\circ}$): A single small circle.

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5. Advanced Context and Unique Insights

The story of the Dakuten is not just about pronunciation; it’s about the deep history and structure of the Japanese language.

The Phenomenon of Rendaku (連濁)

Rendaku is a morphophonological process (a fancy term for a sound change that happens when words combine) where an unvoiced consonant at the beginning of the second part of a compound word becomes voiced (gets a hiragana dakuten).

This is why toki (とき – time) and dokei (とけい – clock) are related. When tokei combines with a prefix or other word, the ‘t’ often becomes a ‘d’.

• Example 1: $Kami$ (かみ – paper) + $fūto$ (ふうとう – envelope) $\rightarrow$ $Kamibūto$ (かみぶうとう – paper bag/envelope combination, sometimes $kami-bukuro$). Notice $fu$ (ふ) $\rightarrow$ $bu$ (ぶ).
• Example 2: $Hito$ (ひと – person) + $saru$ (さる – monkey) $\rightarrow$ Hitozaru (ひとざる – an anthropoid ape). Notice $sa$ (さ) $\rightarrow$ $za$ (ざ).

Understanding Rendaku is a major step toward N3 and N2 vocabulary recognition, as it explains why certain Kanji readings change when they are used in compounds.

The ‘N’ Sound’s Secret Life

You’ve learned about the unique character The Final Characters: Wa, Wo, and the Crucial ‘N’ (ん) – JLPT Samurai. Did you know that the pronunciation of $n$ (ん) often changes to better accommodate the following $Dakuten$ sound?

• Before a ‘B’ or ‘P’ sound (like ba hiragana or pa hiragana), the $n$ (ん) often sounds like an ‘M’ in English.
  • Senpai (せんぱい – senior) is often pronounced closer to sempai.
  • Shinbun (しんぶん – newspaper) is often pronounced closer to shimbun.

This is a subtle phonetic detail, but mastering it is a huge step toward natural, native-like pronunciation.

6. The Long Game: Practice and Consistency

Learning Japanese is a marathon, not a sprint. The 25 Dakuten and Handakuten characters are a force multiplier for your vocabulary. They make up a significant portion of all Japanese words. You should prioritize them as soon as you have a solid grasp on The Definitive Guide to Hiragana: How to Read, Write, and Master the Japanese Phonetic Script – JLPT Samurai

To keep your learning effective and engaging, I suggest utilizing modern tools. Look for resources that use mnemonics to make those initial connections stick. I’ve compiled a list of excellent strategies in The 7 Best Hiragana Mnemonics and Anki Decks for Rapid Memorization – JLPT Samurai

Moreover, as a future JLPT candidate, you will need to start counting and telling time. The Dakuten and Handakuten are used here as well, such as in byō (びょう – second). Dive into Numbers and Time in Hiragana: The Beginner’s Guide to Counting in Japanese – JLPT Samurai to see this in action.

Finally, for structured practice, you can find many great printable charts online to reinforce your knowledge. Here is one option that might be useful: Download the Ultimate Hiragana Chart PDF (Printable & Interactive Converter) – JLPT Samurai. You can also visit external sites for supplementary materials.

📚 Further Your Japanese Journey (Outbound Links)

To solidify your understanding of voiced and half-voiced sounds, I highly recommend listening to native pronunciation and studying the rules of Japanese phonology in depth.

• For an in-depth, scientific look at Japanese phonetics, including the mechanics of voiced consonants, you can explore this resource: Acoustics of Japanese Speech
• For advanced learners looking to prepare for the JLPT N4, a good study list for vocabulary that includes many words with hiragana dakuten can be found here: Official JLPT N4 Vocabulary List
• For those interested in the history of Japanese writing and how diacritics evolved, including the older uses of the ten-ten, this is a fascinating read: The Evolution of Japanese Writing Systems

🚀 Conclusion

The Dakuten and Handakuten are more than just a couple of dots and a circle. They are the essential hiragana diacritics that unlock the true variety of the Japanese phonetic system, transforming da hiragana, ba hiragana, pa hiragana, and their related sounds into the rich, flowing vocabulary you need to communicate.

By understanding the underlying concept of voiced sounds, you are not just memorizing, you are mastering the linguistic rhythm of the Japanese language. Keep practicing your K-Row, S-Row, T-Row, and H-Row base characters, and then simply add the hiragana dakuten and handakuten for an immediate boost in your reading and speaking fluency. You’re well on your way to acing the JLPT!