(I won't write shorthand no more .. I think it is harder to read for most people which i am truely sorry. =,= )
I'm sure alot of people did the practice thing I gave out of the book so here is a true lesson!
I took notes this time while learning and I want 2 share with everyone! ^-^

(NOT: What I write MAY be wrong, I don't know. .. I might hear it wrong or take wrong notes so don't blame me. I am NOT fluent, I just share what I know only ... so know that too. It is your choice to read this or not And I am NOT good at Japanese, I am a beginner! ^-^ )

I hope everyone rili pay attention 2 these thingsss and I'm sooooo happi many want 2 learn!

Beginners:

VOWELS - A E I O U .. if ur spanish or italian, u will kinda think the vowel sounds is kind of the same in ur language which is ... goood for u, I guess..?

The closest words I found that they sound like:
A - rAther
E - Eleven
I - mEAt
O - Oval
U - frUity

emmm ........ lets see the best way to say this, they are ALL prounounced. Get it? You say every vowel, unlike English where there is a silent vowel, well not for Japanese which is easier.. but there ARE some silent vowels because....some decides not to say it ... like 'desu' .. mostly, they don't say the 'u' because I guess it is a weak vowel .. and 'i' too. but don't ignore those 2 vowels or people will be like .. you know "What the heck are you telling me?" haha .. it happened 2 me before so yeahhhhh .........

My point is that EVERY vowel is prounounced .. there! like ... hA jI mE mA shI tE


anyway .. R is a problem where I hear most people have. they don't say it right. it does NOT sound like our R in English .. it has more of an L too. It sounds pretty close to Spanish but NOT exactly. and F sounds like an H .. I don't why but it is.

Now good luck and Try to read this and break it down so it will be easier.
An easy example is:
tabetai~~~ ( My famous quote LOL )
Nowww... break it down!
ta be ta i
Good luck!


"Watashi wa densha de ikimasu." (I go by the train)

"Kore wa denwa desu" (This is a phone)

"Ano hana wa totemo utsukushii desu" (This part, desu isn't required but you can say desu if you like lol./ That flower is really beautiful)

"Watashi wa nihongo o hanasanai" (Best way to escape when you can't speak Japanese lol/ I don't speak Japanese)

"Watashi wa benkyou dekinai" (I can't study.)

Wow, cool~ Thanks!~ ^^

BIG help.!!! Thank you very mucb.!!!!

let's see... densha is train, denwa is telephone, hana is flower, totemo is really? utsukushii is beautiful? i thought is special or unique... kirei is pretty... oh well, i may be wrong... benkyou is study...

wow..cool..good...

cool..

thanks! that was helpful!

Thanks! I get it alot but I can't memorice all this words

I guess I'll try harder

Nice.

arigato

domo arigato~~~ XD

arigato gozaimasu sensei

sugoi!! thanks very much!! arigato gozaimasu!! thanks for sharing!!

the reason for F sounding like H its because japanese include it among their ha hi hu he ho, only rather than saying hu like who, they semi close their mouth to sound like a very soft Fu, english has distinct H and F but japanese only has FU, and it uses alot less friction to make the sound, there is no fa fi fu fe fo, but rather ha hi fu he ho, fu being a cross between foo and who, like the sound you make when u blow air out ur mouth.

Japanese sounds in hiragana order, note that the side notes are for those wishing to learn hiragana. unfortunately i cant type in jap on this computer =.= sounds with * are irregular and need to be remembered as counterparts of the same sound set. (this is the order words will come under in a japanese - english dictionary)
A I U E O
KA KI KU KE KO
GA GI GU GE GO - written same as K sounds but with " on top
SA SHI SU SE SO
ZA JI* ZU ZE ZO - written same as S sounds but with " on top
TA CHI* TSU* TE TO
DA JI* ZU DE DO - written same as T sounds but with " on top
NA NI NU NE NO
HA HI FU* HE HO
BA BI BU BE BO - written same as H sounds but with " on top
PA PI PU PE PO - written same as H sounds but with small o on top
MA MI MU ME MO
YA YU YO
RA RI RU RE RO
WA WO
in the case of ji/zu"of the S set and ji/zu"of the T set, both are pronounced the same, however due to history of the words that they are in theyre sometimes written differently, reading them is simple, but when writing them you just hafta learn which to use. hey english is screwed up too

Domo arigato sensei