Glomaji
Unlocking the sound world of Japanese.
グローマ字が開く、日本語の音の世界。
Station names, place names, people’s names — romaji is everywhere in Japan. It is very helpful for foreign visitors, but once learners begin studying Japanese more deeply, standard romaji can sometimes become a source of confusion.
駅名、地名、人名など、日本の街にはローマ字があふれています。外国人旅行者にとっては便利なガイドですが、日本語を本格的に学び始めると、そのローマ字がかえって混乱の原因になることがあります。
Glomaji is Hiragana Times’ original romaji system, short for Global Romaji. Most romaji systems are mainly designed to show how Japanese words are pronounced. Glomaji, however, is designed not only to show pronunciation, but also to help learners understand the structure of Japanese writing — kana, particles, word forms, and even Japanese keyboard input. In other words, Glomaji is a bridge between sound, writing, and typing.
グローマ字は、ひらがなタイムズ独自のローマ字表記システムです。一般的なローマ字が主に「日本語の発音をアルファベットで表す」ことを目的としているのに対し、グローマ字は、発音だけでなく、日本語の文字構造、かなの仕組み、助詞、単語の成り立ち、そしてキーボード入力までをつなぐ学習補助システムです。
The example of 富士山
「富士山」で考える
For example, 富士山 is commonly written as Fujisan or Fuji-san in standard romaji. However, the Japanese sound ふ is not exactly the same as the English “f,” where the upper teeth touch the lower lip. The Japanese ふ is produced more softly with the lips, and is closer to hu. In Glomaji, ふじさん is written as hujisann.
たとえば、「富士山」は一般的なローマ字では Fujisan や Fuji-san と書かれます。しかし実際の「ふ」は、英語の “f” のように上の歯を下唇に当てる音ではありません。日本語の「ふ」は、唇をやわらかく使って出す、より hu に近い音です。そのため、グローマ字では「ふじさん」を hujisann と書きます。
| Japanese | Glomaji | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| ふ | hu | 「ふ」 belongs to the は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ row |
| じ | ji | The Japanese sound is shown clearly |
| さん | sann | 「ん」 is written as nn |
| ふじさん | hujisann | Connects pronunciation, kana, and keyboard input |
This may look unusual at first, especially for learners who are used to Hepburn-style romaji. But Glomaji is not simply a pronunciation spelling — it is designed to show how Japanese is written, sounded, and typed.
How Glomaji is written
グローマ字の書き方
ふ is written as hu, not fu
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| は | ha |
| ひ | hi |
| ふ | hu |
| へ | he |
| ほ | ho |
In Japanese, ふ belongs to the は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ row, so Glomaji writes it with h, not f. This helps learners see that ふ is part of the same kana row as は・ひ・へ・ほ.
日本語の「ふ」は五十音の中で「は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ」の行に属しています。そのため、グローマ字では fu ではなく hu と表記します。
It shows how Japanese is written, not only how it sounds
| Japanese | Pronunciation | Glomaji |
|---|---|---|
| 私は | watashi wa | watashi ha |
| 本を | hon o | honn wo |
| 東京へ | toukyou e | toukyou he |
Japanese particles are sometimes pronounced differently from how they are written. Glomaji keeps the written form visible, so readers become familiar with actual Japanese writing.
グローマ字では、「私は」の「は」を、発音通りの wa ではなく、表記に合わせて ha と書きます。これは、読者に日本語の発音だけでなく、実際の書き方にも慣れてもらうためです。
ん is written as nn
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| 日本（にほん） | nihonn |
| 日本（にっぽん） | nipponn |
| 女（おんな） | onnna |
| 先生（せんせい） | sennsei |
| 新聞（しんぶん） | shinnbunn |
This rule also helps with Japanese keyboard input. When typing Japanese, using nn often makes it easier to convert the sound into the correct Japanese characters.
| Glomaji input | Japanese conversion |
|---|---|
| onnna | 女 |
| nihonn | 日本 |
| nipponn | 日本 |
| sennsei | 先生 |
Small っ is shown with double letters
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| きって | kitte |
| がっこう | gakkou |
| にっぽん | nipponn |
| ざっし | zasshi |
| ベッド | beddo |
| サッカー | sakka- |
This helps readers notice the small pause or strengthened consonant in Japanese pronunciation.
Small kana are written with x
| Kana | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| ぁ | xa |
| ぃ | xi |
| ぅ | xu |
| ぇ | xe |
| ぉ | xo |
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| うぉ | uxo |
| ふぁ | huxa |
| ふぃ | huxi |
| ふぇ | huxe |
| ふぉ | huxo |
For example, うぉ is written as uxo, because it can be typed as u + xo on a Japanese keyboard.
Combined sounds are shown with y
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| じゃ | jya |
| じゅ | jyu |
| じょ | jyo |
| じょう | jyou |
| 天井（てんじょう） | tennjyou |
| 感情（かんじょう） | kannjyou |
| 縄文（じょうもん） | jyoumonn |
In standard romaji, じょう is often written as jou or jō. In Glomaji, it is written as jyou to show that it is made from じ ＋ small ょ ＋ う.
Long vowels are written directly
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| おおさか | oosaka |
| とうきょう | toukyou |
| くうき | kuuki |
| おにいさん | oniisann |
| せんせい | sennsei |
Glomaji avoids special marks such as macrons, because they are not always easy to type. Instead, long vowels are written directly.
Katakana words reflect Japanese pronunciation
| Japanese | Glomaji | Original word |
|---|---|---|
| ミルク | miruku | milk |
| ビザ | biza | visa |
| クイズ | kuizu | quiz |
| テキスト | tekisuto | text |
| コーヒー | ko-hi- | coffee |
| コンピューター | konnpyu-ta- | computer |
Katakana words often come from foreign languages, but they are pronounced in a Japanese way. Glomaji reflects the Japanese pronunciation rather than the original foreign spelling.
Apostrophes may be used to show word structure
| Japanese | Glomaji |
|---|---|
| 日本文化 | nihonn'bunnka |
| 期間限定 | kikann'gentei |
| 国家間 | kokka'kann |
| 文化概念語 | bunnka'gainenn'go |
The apostrophe helps readers see where one word or idea connects to another. It is only a reading aid and is not typed when inputting Japanese on a keyboard.
Proper nouns are not capitalized
| English style | Glomaji style |
|---|---|
| Tokyo | toukyou |
| Japan | nihonn |
| Hiragana Times | hiragana taimuzu |
| Mount Fuji | hujisann |
Japanese has no capital letters, so Glomaji usually does not capitalize the first letter of proper nouns or sentences. This keeps Glomaji closer to the structure of Japanese writing.
Glomaji as a window into Japanese sound
日本語の音の世界へ
One of the deeper features of Glomaji is that it makes the sound structure of Japanese more visible. The single kana か contains two elements — k + a = ka. In this way, Glomaji helps learners see that Japanese sounds are not random: each kana is built from a relationship between consonant and vowel.
グローマ字の深い役割の一つは、日本語の音韻構造を可視化することです。たとえば、「か」という一文字の中には、k + a = ka という音の構造があります。
In some traditional Japanese views of sound, the consonant may be seen as a “father sound,” and the vowel as a “mother sound.” When they meet, a new sound is born. Sound is not only a tool for communication. It is also energy, rhythm, and life.
日本の音に対する伝統的な見方の中には、子音を「父音」、母音を「母音」ととらえる考え方があります。父音と母音が出会うことで、新しい音が生まれる。音は、単なる伝達手段ではありません。音はエネルギーであり、リズムであり、命でもあります。
Glomaji is not a replacement for Hepburn romaji
Glomaji is different from standard Hepburn-style romaji. Hepburn romaji is widely used and is especially helpful for showing pronunciation to English speakers. Glomaji has a different purpose.
It is designed to help learners understand Japanese pronunciation, hiragana and katakana structure, particles such as は・を・へ, small kana such as っ・ゃ・ゅ・ょ・ぁ・ぃ・ぅ・ぇ・ぉ, word structure, Japanese keyboard input, kanji conversion, and the sound world behind Japanese characters.
つまり、Glomajiは発音ガイドであるだけでなく、日本語の書かれた世界に入るための学習ツールです。
Frequently Asked Questions
Why do you write ふ as hu instead of fu?
Because ふ belongs to the は・ひ・ふ・へ・ほ row in Japanese kana. Also, the Japanese ふ sound is not exactly the same as the English “f.”
Why do you write 私は as watashi ha?
Because は is written as は in Japanese, even when it is pronounced “wa” as a particle. Glomaji helps learners understand how Japanese is actually written.
Why do you write 日本 as nihonn?
Because ん is written as nn in Glomaji. This also helps with Japanese keyboard input and kana conversion.
Why do you write 天井 as tennjyou?
Because 天井 is written in hiragana as てんじょう. Glomaji writes ん as nn and じょう as jyou, showing the structure of じ ＋ small ょ ＋ う.
Why do you write うぉ as uxo?
Because ぉ is a small kana, and Glomaji uses x for small kana. So うぉ becomes u + xo, or uxo.
Is Glomaji the same as Hepburn romaji?
No. Hepburn romaji mainly focuses on pronunciation. Glomaji also helps readers understand kana structure, written Japanese, keyboard input, and the sound world of Japanese.
Glomaji is a bridge
Glomaji is Hiragana Times’ original romaji system, short for Global Romaji. Unlike standard romaji, which mainly shows pronunciation, Glomaji is designed to help learners understand the structure of Japanese kana, particles, written forms, and keyboard input.
Glomaji may look different from standard Hepburn-style romaji, but it is designed as a bridge between pronunciation, writing, typing, and the deeper sound world of Japanese.
グローマ字は、単なるローマ字表記ではありません。それは、日本語の音、文字、入力、そして言葉の奥にある世界観へと学習者を導くための、ひらがなタイムズ独自の入り口です。
