Three familiar kana have special readings when they function as particles.
The idea
The topic particle は is pronounced わ; the direction particle へ is pronounced え; and the object particle を is normally pronounced お in standard Japanese. The spelling stays は, へ and を.
| Written | Read |
|---|---|
| は | わ |
| へ | え |
| を | お |
Examples
- 私は学生です。I am a student.
- 今日は寒いです。Today is cold.
- 学校へ行きます。I am going to school.
- 友達へ手紙を送ります。I will send a letter to my friend.
- 水を飲みます。I drink water.
- 花はきれいです。The flower is beautiful.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not apply these readings inside ordinary words: 花 is はな, not わな. Identify the grammatical role before reading aloud.
Try it yourself
「私は」の「は」はどう読みますか。（は／わ）
Show answer or example answer
わ
わ: は marks the topic after 私, so it is pronounced わ.
「学校へ」の「へ」はどう読みますか。（へ／え）
Show answer or example answer
え
え: へ marks the direction toward 学校, so it is pronounced え.
「水を」の「を」はどう読みますか。（お／を）
Show answer or example answer
お
お: を marks 水 as the object and is normally pronounced お.
「花」の「は」はどう読みますか。（は／わ）
Show answer or example answer
は
は: here は is part of 花, not a particle, so it keeps its usual sound.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
「私は」の「は」はどう読みますか。（は／わ）
「学校へ」の「へ」はどう読みますか。（へ／え）
「水を」の「を」はどう読みますか。（お／を）
「花」の「は」はどう読みますか。（は／わ）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Read each sentence aloud, then cover the table and choose the sound of the marked kana.