Japanese Hobby

How to stay motivated to learn Japanese

<div> 
 The biggest obstacle when trying to learn Japanese or trying to learn anything is motivation. I know it sounds obvious that you need the proper motivation to achieve something. But in reality, we always find a good reason to stop. To stop learning, to stop going for a three-weekly run, going to the gym or meditating daily (what I’m trying to do with the <a href="https://www.headspace.com/">headspace</a> app but more on that later). No matter what it is, if you want to be successful in doing it you need to be consistent and have the willpower and devotion to pull through. To make it short, you always have the time, you just need the right motivation to use it properly.
I’m an iOS user (which you probably noticed as a long time reader) and have been using an app called <a href="https://inthemoment.io/">Moment</a> for almost a year now. Unfortunately, they don’t have an Android version available as of now (but there may be some alternatives I’m not aware of, please share them if you know something). What this app does is basically giving you an overview of the time spent on your device. I’m using it on my phone and my tablet. I’m using the latter one a lot for my studies as well so 1k hours a year with my iPad isn’t as scary as it sounds. You can set up push notifications which remind you every 15,30,45 minutes (and so on) that you’re using your phone. You can even set a total time limit for each day.
What Moment does is giving you an overview of the whole time you’re practically wasting on your phone. Time spent browsing pictures on Instagram, writing endless chats with friends and reading Japanese Tease. So all in all time not well spent. I always notice this during my holidays when I’m away and practically don’t use my phone at all. I’m not missing anything. If there is something to talk about I just make a short call. All the social media nonsense is practically always wasted time and a quick look into the news is day is more than sufficient to get the gist of what’s going on in the world.
<h4>What to make with all the newfound time?</h4>
Every week I get a push notification from Moment with my statistic and time spent on my phone. It’s usually something around 10 hours. That’s nearly 90 minutes a day. Not counting my iPad time, mind you.
And now I’m the one telling myself that I don’t have 15 minutes a day to spend on my Japanese studies. I know it’s ridiculous. The time is obviously there but I choose to spend it otherwise. And it’s just because I clearly lack the motivation that keeps my studying each day no matter what.
Wanting to read manga in Japanese or watching Anime is just not enough to keep you studying regularly. You need something bigger to keep you motivated and on top of your Japanese studies. After all not finding the time is clearly not the reason why we stopped studying. The time is there only the motivation is lacking.
<h4>Dig deep and think about the reasons that made you start studying in the first place</h4>
Always remind yourself about your key motivation. The one that finally pushed you to buy Genki and make a subscription to WaniKani. What was the one thing you wanted to accomplish with learning that new language. Get this reason straight for yourself.
I know it sounds like all these new-age learning techniques but having a clear goal present is the best motivational tool one can have.  At first, learning Japanese will be a breeze and you can’t imagine a slowdown. But after a couple of weeks, you’ll notice things slowing down significantly. With life getting in the way and all your other responsibilities pushing down on you.
This is the time when you need that reason, that reminder why you started out in the first place.
<h4>The problem with high difficulty spikes</h4>
You don’t want to read <a href="https://www.japanesetease.net/japanese-graded-readers/">Japanese Graded Readers</a> forever no matter how charming and rewarding these can be in the beginning. The goal would be to enjoy things in Japanese that you can’t find anywhere else. I was pretty bad in my English classes but when I started to watch films in English (with English subtitles) things picked up rapidly for me.
Because I had a reason to stay invested in the language. Watching films where I just couldn’t find a German release for (and this was long before getting into the Criterion Collection) helped me to surround myself with English and ultimately helped me a lot to learn and enjoy the language.
The problem with Japanese is that this is kind of immersion is not really possible in the early stages. And the early stages are not just a few when trying to learn Japanese. What I can recommend though is following a few Japanese accounts on Twitter or Instagram. The texts are short and manageable and it’s nice to read some real-world stuff you actually care about and is not too overwhelming.
If you don’t understand something, just scroll down. If you really want to get into it and conquer that sentence that just didn’t make any sense, you can do it. The length of the texts is manageable and with that, you can also decipher it (if necessary) in a short period of time. Just a little Japanese quickie in between your normal life.

What are you doing to stay immersed in Japanese and what are your tips to stay motivated? 
</div>

How to stay motivated to learn Japanese

The biggest obstacle when trying to learn Japanese or trying to learn anything is motivation. I know it so...

Gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ

<div>gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ, and then asked yourself: what does it mean??? 
 
 
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="definition">
Definition</h2>
The word gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ is a kind-of like an onomatopoeia that was made up by the author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure, JoJo no Kimyou na Bouken ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, and used in that manga. It's often used when a powerful enemy shows up to be confronted. 
 
The translation of gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ is usually *menacing* or something like that. Generally, it implies "things are getting tense." But since it's made up, nobody, except for the author, knows for sure what it's supposed to mean. 
 
Technically, gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ is not an onomatopoeia but a non-onomatopoeic <a></a>gitaigo 擬態語 This is because the characters in JoJo don't actually hear a gogogogo sound. Instead, the word is supposed to evoke an idea: in this case, of something menacing. 
 
Ideophones are also called "mimetic words" for they mimic things, so you could say gogogogo mimics something being menacing. 
 
Also, too many people think it's an onomatopoeia, that's common mistake. 
 
If you watch the anime adaptations, though, you'll find there's no gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ sound effect despite the lettering showing up on screen. 
<h2 id="dodododo-meaning">
Dodododo ドドドド</h2>
The word dodododo ドドドド is another sound effect used in the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It tends to show up when things are getting bizarre. When something sudden and unexpected happens, something of "real form unknown," shoutai-fumei 正体不明, etc. 
 
<h2 id="in-other-manga">
In Other Manga</h2>
Sometimes the mimetic words gogogogo and dodododo appear in other manga too. 
 
For example, One Punch Man, wan-pan-man ワンパンマン, uses gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ in a lot of tense scenes, in a way similar to how JoJo would have it. 
 
 
However, just because a different manga is using the same sound effect that doesn't mean it's using them with the same meaning. Also in the manga One Punch Man, dodododo ドドドド is used, instead, as the sound effect for the ominous and peerless King Engine™. 
 
 
(text: tada mon janee...!? ただモンじゃねぇ！？, "it isn't just [anybody]!?" in the meaning that it was actually someone powerful.) 
 
In this case, it could be that it's the sound of his thunderous, raging, brave heart. That is, dododo is being used like , but tenser. 
 
There are also cases where dododo ドドド refers to the sound of a motorcycle starting up. 
<h2>
References</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://jojosoku.com/archives/post-39526.html">ジョジョの「ゴゴゴゴ」と「ドドドド」の違い説明できるやついる？ - jojosoku.com/archives/post-39526.html</a> 
Japanese natives trying to explain what in the world they assume these ideophones mean. 
(this is a matome まとめ website, it aggregates stuff from other websites. In this case, it aggregates and archives JoJo-related threads from Japanese boards.)</li>
</ul>

If you have read JoJo, or if you spent too much time on the internet browsing anime memes, you've probably come across this bizarre word formed by four repeated symbols:ゴゴゴゴ, and then asked yourself: what does it mean???The wordゴゴゴゴ is a kind-of like an onomatopoeia that was made up by the author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure,ジョジョの奇妙な冒険, and used in that manga. It's often used when a powerful enemy shows up to be confronted.The translation ofゴゴゴゴ is usually *menacing* or something like that. Generally, it implies "things are getting tense." But since it's made up, nobody, except for the author, knows for sure what it's supposed to mean.Technically,ゴゴゴゴ is not an onomatopoeia but a non-onomatopoeic <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/mimetic-words.html">ideophone</a> 擬態語 This is because the characters in JoJo don't actuallysound. Instead, the word is supposed to evoke an idea: in this case, of something menacing.Ideophones are also called "mimetic words" for they mimic things, so you could saymimics something being menacing.Also, too many people think it's an onomatopoeia, that's common mistake.If you watch the anime adaptations, though, you'll find there's noゴゴゴゴ sound effect despite the lettering showing up on screen.The wordドドドド is another sound effect used in the manga JoJo's Bizarre Adventure. It tends to show up when things are getting bizarre. When something sudden and unexpected happens, something of "real form unknown,"正体不明, etc.Sometimes the mimetic wordsandappear in other manga too.For example, One Punch Man,ワンパンマン, usesゴゴゴゴ in a lot of tense scenes, in a way similar to how JoJo would have it.However, just because a different manga is using the same sound effect that doesn't mean it's using them with the same meaning. Also in the manga One Punch Man,ドドドド is used, instead, as the sound effect for the ominous and peerless King Engine™.(text:ただモンじゃねぇ！？, "it isn't just [anybody]!?" in the meaning that it was actually someone powerful.)In this case, it could be that it's the sound of his thunderous, raging, brave heart. That is,is being used like, but tenser.There are also cases whereドドド refers to the sound of a motorcycle starting up.</div>

Gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ

gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ, and then asked yourself: what does it mean??? Definition The word gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ is a kind-of like an onomatopoeia th...

Monster Girl

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Peachification

<div>Piichi-hime-ka ピーチ姫化, literally "turning into Princess Peach," is the term for turning characters into Princess Peach-like characters by putting a Super Crown on them. 
 
Also spelled peachfication or peach-fication. 
 
See <a></a><a></a> 
 
 
<a name="more"></a> 
Peachification overlaps with rule 63, or "gender-swap (to female)," <a></a><a></a><a></a> 
 
 
Regarding the Japanese grammar, it's the same as nyotaika, making use of the suru する verb: 
<ul>
<li>Piichi-hime-ka shita Kuppa ピーチ姫化したクッパ 
Peachified Bowser.</li>
<li>Nyotai-ka shita Kuppa 女体化したクッパ 
Woman-body-fied Bowser. 
Gender-bent Bowser (to female only, <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/02/nyotaika-meaning.html#nantaika-meaning">nantaika 男体化</a> is to male.)</li>
</ul>

Peachification, in Japaneseピーチ姫化, literally "turning into Princess Peach," is the term for turning characters into Princess Peach-like characters by putting a Super Crown on them.Also spelled peachfication or peach-fication.See <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/bowsette-in-japanese.html">Bowsette</a> and <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/bowsette-in-japanese.html#princesses-names">Other Princesses</a> for reference.Peachification overlaps with rule 63, or "gender-swap (to female)," <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/02/nyotaika-meaning.html">nyotaika 女体化</a> , and "turning something into a cute anime girl," <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/moe-anthropomorphism.html">moe anthropormophism</a> , and, since Super Mario characters are game monsters, it overlaps with <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/09/monster-girl.html">monster girls</a> too.Regarding the Japanese grammar, it's the same as, making use of theする verb:</div>

Peachification

Piichi-hime-ka ピーチ姫化, literally "turning into Princess Peach," is the term for turning characters into Princess Peach-like charac...

Monster Girl

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Japanese with Anime: October 2018

gogogogo ゴゴゴゴ, and then asked yourself: what does it mean??? If you have read JoJo, or if you spent too much time on the internet bro...

Different Romaji, Same Word

<div>romaji. For example, arigato, arigatō and arigatou. Or kohai, kōhai, and kouhai. Or senpai and sempai. Or on'yomi and onyomi. Or "monster" being monsutaa, monsutā or left as literally monster in romaji. After all, what's the correct romaji for these words? Why does this even happen? 
 
 
 
<a name="more"></a><h2 id="which-is-correct-romaji">
Which One Is Correct?</h2>
If you're wondering which one is correct, arigatou, arigatō, arigato or arigatoo, the answer is: all of them. And they are all pronounced the same way. 
 
This is because all the romaji above refer to the same word: 有難う. 
 
If 有難う is pronounced one way, and arigatō and arigatou are simply a different way of writing 有難う, then arigatō and arigatou must be pronounced the same way as 有難う. They are all pronounced the same. 
 
But if they are all pronounced the same, why is the romaji different? 
<h3>
Why Romaji Varies</h3>
Basically, transliteration isn't an exact science. There's no official romanization for a given word. Because the romaji changes depending on the method applied to obtain that romaji. 
 
For example, some methods are based simply on the letters. The same letters result in the same romaji. It's consistent that way. However, if two words written the same are pronounced differently in Japanese, that won't show in the romaji. 
 
So there are also methods which attempt to transcribe how the word is pronounced. Here you already have a difference. A single word may be romanized based on how it's written or on how it's pronounced. And since you're just writing down the sounds you're hearing, two different people may end up romanizing the same word differently based on what they think it sounds like. 
<h3>
Why Romaji Doesn't Vary, Sorta</h3>
To make sure the romaji stays consistent from person to person, certain rules were created to romanize words. A set of such rules is called a <a></a> 
 
One romaji systems or another and their rules are used as reference pretty much every time a word needs to be romanized. That's why, most of the time, a single word Japanese word is only ever romanized in one way. 
 
But then there are differences between the systems. There are even differences within a same system, because its rules were updated and some people still follow the old version. 
 
And then new differences are born purely from the fact that some people are using a system but they don't know or can't be arsed to follow all of its rules, so they adopt some rules but skip over others, creating a romaji different from that of a person who followed all the romaji rules. 
 
Below I'll list some of the common variations of romaji found in words and where they come from. I hope it serves as reference and answers the "why a single word has two romaji?" question. 
<h2 id="english-words-in-romaji">
English Words in Romaji</h2>
Sometimes, when the Japanese phrase contains a word that's a <a></a><a></a>romaji. 
 
One example of katakanization is found in the name of the Japanese game pokémon, which comes from English words: 
<ul>
<li>poketto monsutaa ポケットモンスター 
Pocket monster.</li>
</ul>
 
But that isn't a really good example because the whole phrase is in English. A better example would be when it mixes loaned words and native words: 
<ul>
<li>monsutaa musume モンスター娘 
Monster girl.</li>
</ul>
 
The term above combines monsutaa, the katakanization of the English word "monster," with <a></a> 
<ul>
<li>monster musume モンスター娘</li>
</ul>
 
The above happens even though, normally, the romaji of Japanese words never contains "st" or ends with "r." Likewise: 
<ul>
<li>Tensei shitara Suraimu Datta Ken 
Tensei shitara Slime Datta Ken 
転生したらスライムだった件 
"The case [in which] after reincarnating [I] was a slime."</li>
</ul>
 
The Japanese language doesn't have an "L" consonant, so "slime" is katakanized to suraimu, with an R. But the romanization may feature the original English word: slime, which oddly does have an L and stands out like a sore thumb in the romanization. 
<h2 id="aa-long-vowel">
Aa / ā / a</h2>
The romaji aa, ā, and a are for long vowels starting with a, like ああ and あー. 
 
See the <a></a> 
<h3>
Examples:</h3>
<ul>
<li>お母さん 
おかあさん 
おかーさん 
okaasan 
okāsan 
okasan</li>
<li>お祖母さん 
おばあさん 
おばーさん 
obaasan 
obāsan 
obasan</li>
<li>麻雀 
マージャン 
maajan 
mājan 
majan</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="ei-ee-long-vowel">
Ei / ē / e / ee</h2>
The romaji ei is for えい, which may be a long vowel. 
The romaji ē, e, and ee are for long vowels starting with e, like えい, えー and ええ. 
 
See the <a></a> 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>お姉さん 
おねえさん 
おねーさん 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/oniichan-oneechan-otouto-imouto-meaning.html">oneesan</a> 
onēsan 
onesan</li>
<li>先生 
せんせい 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/04/sensei-meaning.html">sensei</a> 
sensē 
sense 
sensee</li>
<li>ケーキ 
keeki 
kēki 
keki</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="ii-long-vowel">
Ii / ī / i</h2>
The romaji ii, ī, and i are for long vowels starting with i, like いい and いー. 
 
See the <a></a> 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>お兄さん 
おにいさん 
おにーさん 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/oniichan-oneechan-otouto-imouto-meaning.html">oniisan</a> 
onīsan 
onisan</li>
<li>ヒーロー 
hiiroo 
hīrō 
hiro</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="ou-oo-long-vowel">
Ou / ō / o / oo</h2>
The romaji ou is for おう, which may be a long vowel. 
The romaji ō, o, and oo are for long vowels starting with o, like おう, おー, and おお. 
 
See the <a></a> 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>有難う 
ありがとう 
arigatou 
arigatō 
arigato 
arigatoo</li>
<li>今日 
きょう 
kyou 
kyō 
kyo 
kyoo</li>
<li>ローマ字 
ローマじ 
 roumaji 
 rōmaji 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/08/romaji-meaning.html">romaji</a> 
roomaji</li>
<li>氷 
こおり 
koori 
kōri 
kori</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>妹 
いもうと 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/oniichan-oneechan-otouto-imouto-meaning.html">imouto</a> 
imōto 
imoto 
imooto</li>
<li>弟 
おとうと 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/oniichan-oneechan-otouto-imouto-meaning.html">otouto</a> 
otōto 
ototo 
otooto</li>
<li>お父さん 
おとうさん 
otousan 
otōsan 
otosan 
otoosan</li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li>後輩 
こうはい 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/08/senpai-kouhai-meaning.html">kouhai</a> 
kōhai 
kouhai 
koohai</li>
<li>同人 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/10/doujin-doujinshi-meaning.html">doujin</a> 
dōjin 
dojin 
doojin</li>
<li>東京 
とうきょう 
toukyou 
tōkyo 
tokyo 
tookyoo</li>
<li>東方 仗助 
ひがしかた じょうすけ 
Higashikata Jousuke 
Higashikata Jōsuke 
Higashikata Josuke</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="uu-long-vowel">
Uu / ū / u</h2>
The romaji uu, ū, and u are for long vowels starting with u, like うう and うー. 
 
See the <a></a> 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>九尾 
きゅうび 
kyuubi 
kyūbi 
kyubi</li>
<li>キュゥべえ 
kyuubee 
kyūbe 
kyube 
("Kyubey," from Madoka Magica)</li>
<li>十二大戦 
じゅうにたいせん 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/11/juuni-taisen-taglines.html">juuni taisen</a> 
jūni taisen 
juni taisen</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="mb-mp-mm-romaji">
N / m</h2>
In traditional <a></a>n ん is romanized as m ん if it comes before a b, m, or p syllable. 
 
Modified Hepburn, more recent, does not have this rule. 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>先輩 
せんぱい 
<a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/08/senpai-kouhai-meaning.html">senpai</a> 
sempai</li>
<li>貧乏 
びんぼう 
binbou 
bimbou</li>
<li>binbō</li>
<li>bimbō</li>
<li>段ボール 
だんボール 
danbooru 
dambooru 
danbōru 
dambōru</li>
<li>乱麻½ 
らんま½ 
ranma 1/2 
ramma 1/2</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="syllabic-n-vowel">
N / n- / n' / n̄</h2>
In <a></a>n ん is romanized n ん. However, to make sure n ん + a あ, two syllables, wouldn't look like a single na な syllable, the n ん is romanized differently if it comes before a vowel or an y-syllable. 
 
In traditional Hepburn, it becomes n-, with a dash. In modified Hepburn, it becomes n', with an apostrophe. 
 
Because not everybody is aware of this rule, people may end up transliterating kon'ya or kon-ya 今夜 as konya 今夜 instead, which looks like ko-nya こにゃ even though it is ko-n-ya こんや. 
 
In JSL, it's always romanized n̄ ん with a macron, because they didn't want to deal with these shenanigans. 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>戦勇 
せんゆう 
sen'yuu 
sen-yuu 
senyuu 
sen̄yuu 
sen'yū 
sen-yū 
senyū 
sen̄yū</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="hyphens-in-romaji">
Hyphens</h2>
Sometimes <a></a> are added to nouns, and when romanized they're separated by a hyphen. Sometimes, they are not separated by a hyphen. 
 
Likewise, other suffixes in general like pluralizing suffixes, etc. can get treated with the hyphen or lack of thereof. 
 
Furthermore, in some cases the suffix is a noun, so it becomes hard to figure out if it's a noun plus suffix or an adjective-noun plus noun. In such cases, an hyphenated version and a space-separated version end up existing. 
 
Nobody is really sure when to put the hyphen. 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>お母さん 
おかあさん 
okaasan 
okaa-san</li>
<li>僕達 
ぼくたち 
bokutachi 
boku-tachi</li>
<li>六本木駅 
ろっぽんぎえき 
roppongi-eki 
roppongi eki</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="particles-in-romaji">
Ha / wa, he / e, wo / o</h2>
The kana ha-he-wo はへを are sometimes romanized as wa-e-o はへを. 
 
This only happens when the kana represents a grammar particle. For example: 
<ul>
<li>haha wa hantaa はは は はんたー 
Mother is a hunter.</li>
<li>henshin e no enerugii へんしん へ の エネルギー 
The energy [used] toward the transformation.</li>
</ul>
 
And it only happens with the particles because the particles are pronounced differently like that. And the reason for that has been explained in another post: <a></a> 
<h2 id="fu-vs-hu-romaji">
Fu / Hu</h2>
In the <a></a>romaji system, it's romanized fu ふ. In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki, the romanization is hu ふ. 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>風船 
ふうせん 
fuusen 
huusen 
fūsen 
hūsen</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sho-vs-syo-romaji">
Sho / Syo</h2>
In <a></a>romaji systems, sho しょis romanized as sho, mimicking the pronunciation. 
 
In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki systems, sho しょ is romanized as syo, because those systems prefer to be regular (kyo, myo, syo instead of sho). 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>少年 
しょうねん 
shounen 
shōnen 
syounen 
syōnen</li>
<li>少女 
しょうじょ 
shoujo 
syouzyo 
shōjo 
syōzyo</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="chi-vs-ti-romaji">
Chi / Ti</h2>
In <a></a>chi ち, in Nihon and Kunrei-shiki, it's romanized ti ち. 
<h3>
Examples</h3>
<ul>
<li>地球 
ちきゅう 
chikyuu 
tikyuu 
chikyū 
tikyū</li>
</ul>
<h2>
Long Vowels</h2>
A common way in which romaji varies is in how a <a></a> 
 
In Japanese, a long vowel happens when the vowel part of a syllable takes longer than one mora of time to pronounce. 
 
To elaborate: 
<ul>
<li>ko こ 
One syllable. One mora.</li>
<li>koe こえ 
Two syllables. Two mora.</li>
<li>koo こー 
One syllable. Two mora.</li>
<li>koo こお 
One syllable. Two mora.</li>
</ul>
 
Basically, instead of pronouncing ko and o separately, the sound of the first syllable is dragged for a bit longer. 
 
The long vowels don't only happen when you have the same vowel repeated. For example, ou おう may be pronounced as a long o. And ei えい may be pronounced as a long e. 
 
Compound kana may have long vowels too. For example: kyuu きゅう is a kyu ending in a long u. 
 
Generally speaking, (there are some exceptions), long vowels only happen within morpheme boundaries. This means that meiro 迷路, "labyrinth," has a me with a long e, because mei 迷 is a single morpheme. However, meiro 目色, "eye color," is pronounced differently, with me 目, "eye," and iro 色, "color," pronounced separately. 
<h3>
Ignore It</h3>
The most simple approach to transliterating long vowels is to just ignore them. 
 
So o お and u う is always ou おう, no matter what it's pronounced like. 
<h3>
Macrons</h3>
A common approach to transliterating long vowels is to add a macron to the long vowel and remove the extra vowel. For example: 
<ul>
<li>gakkou 学校 
gakkō 
School.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Forget The Macron</h3>
Most people don't know how to type a macaroon, much less a macaroni, or a macron. So if they see kyōto written somewhere, they might try to copy it, but they won't be able to type the macron, and type it just as Kyoto. 
<ul>
<li>kyouto 京都 
kyōto 
Kyoto.</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Doubled Vowels</h3>
Another approach (used by the JSL romaji system, for example), is to double the long vowel, but remove the second vowel. It's like doing the macron, but removing the macron and repeating the vowel. Example: 
<ul>
<li>kouhai 後輩 
kōhai (add macron, remove u) 
kohai (forget the macron) 
koohai (double the vowel)</li>
</ul>
<h3>
Discrepancies</h3>
It's interesting to note that the approaches toward long vowels vary from system to system. 
 
For example, modified Hepburn says you can't macronize sensei 先生, even though it's a long vowel. Hepburn doesn't macronize ei えい syllables. It only macaronizes ē えー syllables, written with a <a></a> 
 
However, the book <a></a>sensē 先生 should be macaronized... except it doesn't macaronize stuff. Instead, it uses double vowels. So, in the book, it's romanized sensee 先生, with a doubled e.

Every now and then you see a single same word with multiple, different. For example,and. Or, and. Orand. Orand. Or "monster" beingor left as literallyin. After all, what's the correctfor these words? Why does this even happen?If you're wondering which one is correct,or, the answer is: all of them. And they are allThis is because all theabove refer to the same word: 有難う.If 有難う is pronounced one way, andandare simply a different way of writing 有難う, thenandmust be pronounced the same way as 有難う. They are all pronounced the same.But if they are all pronounced the same, why is thedifferent?Basically, transliteration isn't an exact science. There's no official romanization for a given word. Because thechanges depending on the method applied to obtain thatFor example, some methods are based simply on the letters. The same letters result in the same. It's consistent that way. However, if two words written the same are pronounced differently in Japanese, that won't show in theSo there are also methods which attempt to transcribe how the word is pronounced. Here you already have a difference. A single word may be romanized based on how it's written or on how it's pronounced. And since you're just writing down the sounds you're hearing, two different people may end up romanizing the same word differently based on what they think it sounds like.To make sure thestays consistent from person to person, certain rules were created to romanize words. A set of such rules is called a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">romaji system</a> Onesystems or another and their rules are used as reference pretty much every time a word needs to be romanized. That's why, most of the time, a single word Japanese word is only ever romanized in one way.But then there are differences between the systems. There are even differences within a same system, because its rules were updated and some people still follow the old version.And then new differences are born purely from the fact that some people are using a system but they don't know or can't be arsed to follow all of its rules, so they adopt some rules but skip over others, creating adifferent from that of a person who followed all therules.Below I'll list some of the common variations offound in words and where they come from. I hope it serves as reference and answers the "why a single word has two?" question.Sometimes, when the Japanese phrase contains a word that's a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/katakanization-meaning.html">katakanization</a> , that is, a loaned word that's normally <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/words-written-with-katakana.html">written with katakana</a> , the original English word that the katakanization is based on might get written in theOne example of katakanization is found in the name of the Japanese game pokémon, which comes from English words:But that isn't a really good example because the whole phrase is in English. A better example would be when it mixes loaned words and native words:The term above combines, the katakanization of the English word "monster," with <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2018/04/musume-meaning.html">musume 娘</a> , a Japanese word that can mean "daughter" or "girl." The term can also be romanized as:The above happens even though, normally, theof Japanese words never contains "st" or ends with "r." Likewise:The Japanese language doesn't have an "L" consonant, so "slime" is katakanized to, with an R. But the romanization may feature the original English word: slime, which oddly does have an L and stands out like a sore thumb in the romanization.The, andare for long vowels starting with, like ああ and あー.See the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/different-romaji-same-word.html#long-vowels-explanation">Long Vowels</a> section below for explanation.Theis for えい, which may be a long vowel.The, andare for long vowels starting with, like えい, えー and ええ.See the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/different-romaji-same-word.html#long-vowels-explanation">Long Vowels</a> section below for explanation.The, andare for long vowels starting with, like いい and いー.See the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/different-romaji-same-word.html#long-vowels-explanation">Long Vowels</a> section below for explanation.Theis for おう, which may be a long vowel.The, andare for long vowels starting with, like おう, おー, and おお.See the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/different-romaji-same-word.html#long-vowels-explanation">Long Vowels</a> section below for explanation.The, andare for long vowels starting with, like うう and うー.See the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/different-romaji-same-word.html#long-vowels-explanation">Long Vowels</a> section below for explanation.In traditional <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">Hepburn</a> ん is romanized asん if it comes before a, orsyllable.Modified Hepburn, more recent, does not have this rule.In <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">Hepburn</a> , the syllabicん is romanizedん. However, to make sureん +あ, two syllables, wouldn't look like a singleな syllable, theん is romanized differently if it comes before a vowel or an-syllable.In traditional Hepburn, it becomes, with a dash. In modified Hepburn, it becomes, with an apostrophe.Because not everybody is aware of this rule, people may end up transliteratingor今夜 as今夜 instead, which looks likeこにゃ even though it isこんや.In JSL, it's always romanizedん with a macron, because they didn't want to deal with these shenanigans.Sometimes <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2016/07/kun-san-chan-sama-meaning.html">honorific suffixes like sama, san, and </a> are added to nouns, and when romanized they're separated by a hyphen. Sometimes, they are not separated by a hyphen.Likewise, other suffixes in general like pluralizing suffixes, etc. can get treated with the hyphen or lack of thereof.Furthermore, in some cases the suffix is a noun, so it becomes hard to figure out if it's a noun plus suffix or an adjective-noun plus noun. In such cases, an hyphenated version and a space-separated version end up existing.Nobody is really sure when to put the hyphen.Theはへを are sometimes romanized asはへを.This only happens when the kana represents a grammar particle. For example:And it only happens with the particles because the particles are pronounced differently like that. And the reason for that has been explained in another post: <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/08/particles-pronunciation-ha-wa-he-e-wo-o.html">Why is ha は wa?</a> In the <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">Hepburn</a> system, it's romanizedふ. In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki, the romanization isふ.In <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">Hepburn</a> and similarsystems,しょis romanized as, mimicking the pronunciation.In Nihon-shiki and Kunrei-shiki systems,しょ is romanized as, because those systems prefer to be regular (instead of).In <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">Hepburn</a> , it'sち, in Nihon and Kunrei-shiki, it's romanizedち.A common way in whichvaries is in how a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/12/romaji-systems-hepburn-nihon-kunrei.html">romaji system</a> transliterates long vowels.In Japanese, a long vowel happens when the vowel part of a syllable takes longer than one mora of time to pronounce.To elaborate:Basically, instead of pronouncingandseparately, the sound of the first syllable is dragged for a bit longer.The long vowels don't only happen when you have the same vowel repeated. For example,おう may be pronounced as a long. Andえい may be pronounced as a longCompound kana may have long vowels too. For example:きゅう is aending in a longGenerally speaking, (there are some exceptions), long vowels only happen within morpheme boundaries. This means that迷路, "labyrinth," has awith a long, because迷 is a single morpheme. However,目色, "eye color," is pronounced differently, with目, "eye," and色, "color," pronounced separately.The most simple approach to transliterating long vowels is to just ignore them.Soお andう is alwaysおう, no matter what it's pronounced like.A common approach to transliterating long vowels is to add a macron to the long vowel and remove the extra vowel. For example:Most people don't know how to type a macaroon, much less a macaroni, or a macron. So if they seewritten somewhere, they might try to copy it, but they won't be able to type the macron, and type it just asAnother approach (used by the JSLsystem, for example), is to double the long vowel, but remove the second vowel. It's like doing the macron, but removing the macron and repeating the vowel. Example:It's interesting to note that the approaches toward long vowels vary from system to system.For example, modified Hepburn says you can't macronize先生, even though it's a long vowel. Hepburn doesn't macronizeえい syllables. It only macaronizesえー syllables, written with a <a href="https://www.japanesewithanime.com/2017/04/prolonged-sound-mark.html">prolonged sound mark ー</a> However, the book <a href="http://amzn.to/2ysxxbw" rel="nofollow">Genki</a> does think先生 should be macaronized... except it doesn't macaronize stuff. Instead, it uses double vowels. So, in the book, it's romanized先生, with a doubled</div>

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