---
title: Syllables
---

The basic units of Miwāfu are syllables. These are represented as a single glyph in the written language and spoken as a single unit. They are also the basis of the penultimate accent on the final word of a phrase.

Syllable Chart
==============
 
    | w   | r   | m   | p   | b   | h   | n   | d   | t    | z   | s    | g   | k   | f
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ---- | --- | ---- | --- | --- | ---
a   | wa  | ra  | ma  | pa  | ba  | ha  | na  | da  | ta   | za  | sa   | ga  | ka  | fa
e   | we  | re  | me  | pe  | be  | he  | ne  | de  | te   | ze  | se   | ge  | ke  | fe
i   | wi  | ri  | mi  | pi  | bi  | hi  | ni  |     | chi  | ji  | shi  | gi  | ki  | fi
o   | wo  | ro  | mo  | po  | bo  | ho  | no  | do  | to   | jo  | so   | go  | ko  | fo
u   | wu  | ru  | mu  | pu  | bu  | hu  | nu  |     | tsu  | zu  | su   | gu  | ku  | fu
ya  |     | rya | mya | pya | bya | hya | nya |     | chya | jya | shya | gya | kya |
yo  |     | ryo | myo | pyo | byo | hyo | nyo |     | chyo | jyo | shyo | gyo | kyo |
yu  |     | ryu | myu | pyu | byu | hyu | nyu |     | chyu | jyu | shyu | gyu | kyu |
    |     |     |     |     |     |     | n   |     |      |     |      |     |     |

Penultimate Accents
===================

For the penultimate (second to the last) syllable of the final word in a phrase, there is an accent which identifies the gender. This gender can be literal (as with most creatures) or representative of scope.

a   | e   | i   | o   | u   | Typical meanings
--- | --- | --- | --- | --- | ------------------------------------
à   | è   | ì   | ò   | ù   | Masculine, wild, larger, power
ā   | ē   | ī   | ō   | ū   | Child, neutral, many
á   | é   | í   | ó   | ú   | Feminine, control, smaller, accurate

While "n" can be a syllable on its own, it is never used in the penultimate location.

When listed in dictionaries and word lists, accents are in the above order (masculine, neuter, female).

Design Notes
============

The primary reason that "n" cannot be accented is technical. It is very difficult to find a font that handles macron accents over vowels correctly, but almost impossible to find one that handles acute, grave, and macro accents on "n".