゛(known as 'dakuten' or 'tenten') changes the kanas pronunciation from having a voiceless consonant to a voiced one.
ト = to
ド = do
So, for がぎぐげご / ガギグゲゴ the dakuten changes the voiceless "k" sound to a voiced "g" sound that uses your vocal chords in your throat.
Same for ざじずぜぞ / ザジズゼゾ being changed from voiceless "s" to voiced "z" (although じ changes from it's "shi" sound to a "ji" sound).
Same happens for voiceless "t" changing to voiced "d", and voiceless "h" changing to voiced "b".
There's also a similar marker, ゜(known as 'handakuten'), which is only used for "h" sounds to change them to "p".
へ = he; べ = be; ぺ = pe. ^^
March 10, 2015 at 8:07am