Editing Hiragana (section)

=== Spelling–phonology correspondence ===
In the middle of words, the ''g'' sound (normally {{IPA|[ɡ]}}) may turn into a [[velar nasal]] {{IPA|[ŋ]}} or [[voiced velar fricative|velar fricative]] {{IPA|[ɣ]}}. For example, かぎ (''kagi'', key) is often pronounced {{IPA|[kaŋi]}}. However, じゅうご (''jūgo'', fifteen) is pronounced as if it was ''jū'' and ''go'' stacked end to end: {{IPA|[d͡ʑɯːɡo]}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nhk.or.jp/bunken/research/kotoba/pdf/20170401_6.pdf|title=鼻濁音の位置づけと現況}}</ref>

In many accents, the ''j'' and ''z'' sounds are pronounced as [[affricate]]s ({{IPA|[d͡ʑ]}} and {{IPA|[d͡z]}}, respectively) at the beginning of utterances and fricatives {{IPA|[ʑ, z]}} in the middle of words. For example, {{nowrap|すうじ}} ''sūji'' {{IPA|[sɯːʑi]}} 'number', {{nowrap|ざっし}} ''zasshi'' {{IPA|[d͡zaɕɕi]}} 'magazine'.

The singular ''n'' is pronounced {{IPA|[m]}} before ''m'', ''b'' and ''p'', {{IPA|[n]}} before ''t'', ''ch'', ''ts'', ''n'', ''r'', ''z'', ''j'' and ''d'', {{IPA|[ŋ]}} before ''k'' and ''g'', {{IPA|[ɴ]}} at the end of utterances, and some kind of [[Close vowel|high]] [[nasal vowel]] {{IPA|[ɰ̃]}} before vowels, palatal approximants (''y''), and [[fricative consonant]]s (''s'', ''sh'', ''h'', ''f'' and ''w'').{{Citation needed|date=June 2024}}

In kanji readings, the diphthongs ''ou'' and ''ei'' are usually pronounced {{IPA|[oː]}} (long o) and {{IPA|[eː]}} (long e) respectively. For example, {{nowrap|とうきょう}} (lit. ''toukyou'') is pronounced {{IPA|[toːkʲoː]}} 'Tokyo', and {{nowrap|せんせい}} ''sensei'' is {{IPA|[seɯ̃seː]}} 'teacher'. However, {{nowrap|とう}} ''tou'' is pronounced {{IPA|[toɯ]}} 'to inquire', because the ''o'' and ''u'' are considered distinct, ''u'' being the verb ending in the dictionary form. Similarly, {{nowrap|している}} ''shite iru'' is pronounced {{IPA|[ɕiteiɾɯ]}}, present progressive form of {{nowrap|する}} (''suru'', "to do").

In archaic forms of Japanese, there existed the ''kwa'' ({{lang|ja|くゎ}} {{IPA|ojp|kʷa|}}) and ''gwa'' ({{lang|ja|ぐゎ}} {{IPA|ojp|ɡʷa|}}) digraphs. In modern Japanese, these phonemes have been phased out of usage.

For a more thorough discussion on the sounds of Japanese, please refer to [[Japanese phonology]].