う and ふ – Please don’t say “u” and “fu”! How to pronounce Japanese sounds

This is a short lesson on the pronunciation of う and ふ.

And it introduces a very special guest!

I think it matters on more levels than just pronunciation. Thinking that ふ really is “fu”, for example, is one of the things that confuses learners about Japanese structure itself.

Because we need to have a firm grasp of the kana-row relationships in order to grasp the way words are manipulated (or “conjugated” as Western grammar arbitrarily and confusingly designates about half of the process while leaving the other half undesignated).

So I think it will be helpful in more ways than one.

An unusual lesson this time as I was really not well enough to record a normal one and I didn’t want to leave my dear viewers without one. I hope you enjoy Chibi-sensei’s teaching.

I guess the people who find me strange will find her stranger – but that can’t be helped.

And for the people who do like me it’s a little chance to meet the family!

Lots of love to you all – haters and fans alike. But especially the fans – thank you so much for your constant support. It means so much to a poor sick doll!