Japanese basics
Japanese pronunciation
Japanese pronunciation is one of the friendliest parts of the language: five vowels that never change, a small set of consonants, and a steady rhythm. The few things that trip up beginners, long vowels, doubled consonants and the "silent u", are all visible in the kana, which is one more reason to learn hiragana instead of reading romaji.
The five vowels
Every Japanese syllable ends in one of five vowels (or is the lone n). They are short, pure and always the same, unlike English vowels that glide.
| Kana | Romaji | Sounds like | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| あ | a | the a in "father", shorter | あさ (asa, morning) |
| い | i | the ee in "see", shorter | いぬ (inu, dog) |
| う | u | the oo in "food", with relaxed lips, not rounded | うみ (umi, sea) |
| え | e | the e in "get" | えき (eki, station) |
| お | o | the o in "or", shorter, no w glide | おちゃ (ocha, tea) |
Consonants worth a note
- r (ら り る れ ろ) is a single tap of the tongue, between an English r, l and d. The Spanish r in "pero" is close.
- fu (ふ) is blown between the lips, softer than an English f; the rest of the h row is a normal h.
- tsu (つ) is the ts of "cats", also at the start of a word: つき (tsuki, moon).
- shi, chi, ji (し ち じ) are like "she", "cheese" and "jeep", softer than in English.
- n (ん) is the only consonant that stands alone. It takes a full beat and changes with what follows: m before b or p (せんぱい sounds like sempai), ng before k or g.
- g is always hard, as in "go", never as in "gem".
The mora: Japanese rhythm
Japanese is timed in beats called moras, not in stressed syllables. Each kana is one beat and each beat takes roughly the same time. とうきょう (Tōkyō) is four beats, to-o-kyo-o, not two. Keeping the beats even, without stressing one of them as English does, is the single biggest step towards sounding natural.
Long vowels
A long vowel is simply the vowel held for two beats, and it changes the meaning. In hiragana it is written with an extra vowel kana (あ, い, う, and う after o: おう is ō); in katakana, with the bar ー. Romaji marks it with a macron: ō, ū.
| Short | Meaning | Long | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| おばさん (obasan) | aunt | おばあさん (obāsan) | grandmother |
| おじさん (ojisan) | uncle | おじいさん (ojīsan) | grandfather |
| ゆき (yuki) | snow | ゆうき (yūki) | courage |
| ビル (biru) | building | ビール (bīru) | beer |
Double consonants: the small っ
A small っ is a one-beat pause before the next consonant, like the gap in "book-case" between the k and the c. Romaji doubles the letter.
| Without | Meaning | With っ | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| きて (kite) | come | きって (kitte) | stamp |
| さか (saka) | slope | さっか (sakka) | writer |
| おと (oto) | sound | おっと (otto) | husband |
The "silent" u and i
Between two voiceless consonants (k, s, t, h, p) or at the end of a word, u and i are whispered so lightly that they seem to disappear. This is why です sounds like "des", ます like "mas", and すき (suki, to like) like "ski". Write the kana in full, say them lightly.
Pitch, not stress
Japanese words have no stressed syllable. Instead the pitch of the voice steps up or down between beats. It rarely blocks understanding, and the standard patterns are learnt by ear: はし is bridge with the pitch rising, chopsticks with it falling. Listen a lot, imitate, and do not force English stress onto words.
Romaji traps
- Long vowels are often dropped in casual romaji: "Tokyo" and "Osaka" are really Tōkyō and Ōsaka.
- え is e as in "get", so "sake" has two beats, sa-ke, and "karaoke" four.
- The particles は, へ and を are read wa, e and o.
The best cure for all of these is to hear every kana pronounced by a native speaker and repeat it, which is exactly what the app does for each of them. Then read the greetings and numbers out loud.
Practice with Kanapup
Every kana in the app has a native recording. Tap, listen, repeat: the sounds come with the characters.