Chōon (長音)
In katakana, ー means "hold the previous vowel for one more beat".
| コーヒー | kōhī | coffee |
| ケーキ | kēki | cake |
| ノート | nōto | notebook |
| ビール | bīru | beer |
| ラーメン | rāmen | ramen |
| スーパー | sūpā | supermarket |
| ゲーム | gēmu | game |
| メール | mēru | |
| タクシー | takushī | taxi |
| カレー | karē | curry |
How to read it
- Stretch the vowel before ー for an extra beat: コーヒー = kōhī (coffee).
- Length can change the meaning: ビル (biru, building) ↔ ビール (bīru, beer)
- Romaji marks long vowels with a macron (ō), a doubled vowel (oo) or a hyphen (o-). This site accepts all three: kōhī, koohii, ko-hi-
How to write it
- Write a horizontal line (ー) in horizontal text and a vertical line in vertical text.
- It looks almost the same as the kanji 一 (one) or a hyphen — just draw a long line between the kana.
Long vowels in hiragana
- Hiragana doesn't use ー; it adds a vowel kana instead: おかあさん (okāsan, mother), おとうさん (otōsan, father).
- The chōon practice here uses katakana words with ー.