Questions & Answers about chikyuu wa wakusei desu.
It is read:
ちきゅう は わくせい です
chikyū wa wakusei desu
Word by word:
- 地球 = ちきゅう = chikyū
- は = written ha, but pronounced wa here
- 惑星 = わくせい = wakusei
- です = desu
A natural English-style pronunciation guide would be roughly:
- chikyū ≈ chee-kyoo
- wakusei ≈ wah-koo-say
- desu ≈ dess
Also, in normal speech, です often sounds closer to des than a fully pronounced de-su.
Because は has a special pronunciation when it is used as the topic particle.
So:
- as a normal syllable, は = ha
- as the particle marking the topic, は = wa
This is one of the first spelling/pronunciation exceptions learners meet in Japanese. In this sentence, は is not part of a word; it is a grammar marker, so it is pronounced wa.
