ー and 〜 : Prolonged Sound Mark

~ Prolonged Sound Mark - 伸ばし棒(nobàshì bou): ー ~

This symbol “ー” is to elongate/ stretch a vowel right before it. Mainly used in Katakana. 
E.g. ペーパー(peèpàà): paper
ボール(boòrù): ball, bowl
ギター(gitàà): guitar
スポーツ(s(u)pòotsu): sports
アレルギー(arèrugii): allergies
クリーム(kurìimu): cream


This symbol NEVER comes at the very first of a sentence since it requires a vowel. 

———
The meaning and sound change with/without this symbol, so let’s practise!

Examples
ビール(bìiru): beer
ビル(bìru): building 

チーズ(chìizu): cheese
地図(chìzu): map 

ハート(haàtò): heart
ハト(hàto): pigeon

———
This symbol is also used in Hiragana as well but often used for:

1, emotional effects
・おー！すごーい！
(oò! sugòòi!): Wowww! Amaaazing!
・いやだなー... 
(iyà danàà...): I don’t wanna doooo...
・おやすみー
(oyàsùmìì): Good night~

2, alternative writing of “ou” and “ei”
・おはよー 
(ohàyòò): Good morning - instead of おはよう (ohàyòù)
・そーだね
(sòo da nè): Yeah, I agree - instead of そうだね(sòu da nè)
・せんせー
(seńsèe): teacher, Mr/Ms - instead of せんせい/先生(seńsèi)

———

...For these ways of using it, “waved line” : 〜 is alternatively used as well.ー is more monotone, and ～ has a rise/drop in pitch and then returns to the original pitch. 
・おはよ〜(ohàyòò)
・そ〜だね (sòo da nè)

These are just an online symbol to help imply the meaning or intended tone since you're not in person. It’s just like “Yeah~” sounds/looks slightly different from “Yeah” even though they're the exact same word.

———
おまけ... Common Mistake with the Symbol

I’ve seen some learners keep writing the symbol HORIZONTALLY when writing VERTICALLY, so make sure to write it VERTICALLY as well!

———

Hope you understand the ー/〜 symbol better! 

#learnjapanese #studyjapanese #japaneseverbs #lovejapanese #lovejapan #japan #japanese #nihongo #benkyo #ilovejapan #japangram #nippon #nihon #languages #asianlanguage #linguistic #日本語 #日本語勉強 #日本 #語学 #語学勉強 #linecamera