0.4.1 Pronunciation Gotchas

Question 1

Say the five vowels in Japanese.

Answer 1

あ / ア [a]
い / イ [i]
う / ウ [ɯ]
え / エ [e]
お / オ [o]

a i u e o

a (あ / ア) - Pronounced like the “ah” in “father”.

i (い / イ) - Pronounced like the “ee” in “see”.

u (う / ウ) - Pronounced similar to the “oo” in “food”, but with relaxed lips.

e (え / エ) - Pronounced like “eh” in “bed” or “met”.

o (お / オ) - Pronounced like “oh”, but keep it a pure vowel (no “w” glide).

Question 2

Pronounce in Japanese:

ら / り / る / れ / ろ

ra / ri / ru / re / ro

Answer 2

ら / り / る / れ / ろ

ra / ri / ru / re / ro

Although these syllables are written in romaji as “r”, they are not the same as the English “r” or “l”.

Instead, the tongue quickly taps the roof of the mouth, producing a sound between the two.

Question 3

Pronounce in Japanese:

し / ち

shi / chi

Answer 3

し / ち

shi / chi

The sounds し (shi) and ち (chi) are distinct.

chi (ち) starts with a quick “tch” sound (like the start of “cheese”).

shi (し) is softer than the English word “she”.

Question 4

Pronounce in Japanese:

きゃ / きゅ / きょ

kya / kyu / kyo

Answer 4

きゃ / きゅ / きょ

kya / kyu / kyo

Small ya / yu / yo (ゃ/ゅ/ょ) combine with the sound before them to make one beat.

For example, きゃ is kya, not ki-ya.

Question 5

Pronounce in Japanese:

カラオケ / さけ

karaoke / sake

(karaoke / alcohol )

Answer 5

カラオケ / さけ

karaoke / sake

The e (え) sound is pronounced like the “eh” sound in “bed” or “met”.

karaoke (カラオケ) is pronounced as “ka-ra-oh-keh” and sake (さけ) as “sa-keh”.

Question 6

Pronounce in Japanese:

せんせい / えいご

sensei / eigo

(teacher / English)

Answer 6

せんせい / えいご

sensei / eigo

In many words, ei is pronounced like a long e sound, not the English “ay.”

For example, sensei (せんせい) is closer to “sen-seh” (with a long held “eh” sound) than “sen-say”.

eigo (えいご) is closer to “eh (long held vowel sound)-go” than “ay-go”.

Question 7

Pronounce in Japanese:

とうふ / ふくろ

toufu / fukuro

(tofu / bag)

Answer 7

とうふ / ふくろ

toufu / fukuro

The fu (ふ) sound is very soft in Japanese, pronounced with a gentle breath and is closer to “hu” than “foo”.

fukuro (ふくろ) = bag

Question 8

Pronounce in Japanese:

さんぽ / てんぷら

sanpo / tenpura

(walk / tempura)

Answer 8

さんぽ / てんぷら

sanpo / tenpura

The sound n (ん) is its own beat.

Before p / b / m sounds, n (ん) may sound closer to “m”, so sanpo (さんぽ) can sound like sampo, and tenpura (てんぷら) like “tempura”.

sanpo (さんぽ) = walk / stroll

Question 9

Pronounce in Japanese:

つき / すき

tsuki / suki

(moon / like)

Answer 9

つき / すき

tsuki / suki

The tsu (つ) begins with a soft t + s sound and is important for distinguishing words.

Skipping the initial “t” sound can change the meaning completely.

tsuki (つき) = moon

Question 10

Pronounce in Japanese:

スキー / すき

sukii / suki

(ski / like)

Answer 10

スキー / すき

sukii / suki

In katakana, the long vowel mark ー means “hold the vowel for one extra beat”.

So sukii (スキー) is su-kii, not su-ki.

sukii (スキー) = ski

Question 11

Pronounce in Japanese:

おんがく / えいが

ongaku / eiga

(music / movie)

Answer 11

おんがく / えいが

ongaku / eiga

ga (が) is typically a hard “g” sound, like in “go”.

In casual conversation, especially around Tokyo, you may hear a sound like nga, similar to the “ng” sound in “sing”.

eiga (えいが) = movie

Question 12

Pronounce in Japanese:

きょうだい / きょだい

kyoudai / kyodai

(sibling / giant)

Answer 12

きょうだい / きょだい

kyoudai / kyodai

In Japanese, vowel length matters and can dramatically change the meaning of a word.

A short vowel, such as in kyodai (きょだい) is said quickly.

A long vowel, such as in kyoudai (きょうだい) is held for one extra beat.

kyoudai (きょうだい) = sibling

kyodai (きょだい) = giant / huge

Question 13

Pronounce in Japanese:

おばさん / おばあさん

obasan / obaasan

(aunt / grandma)

Answer 13

おばさん / おばあさん

obasan / obaasan

In Japanese, vowel length matters and can dramatically change the meaning of a word.

A long vowel, like in obaasan (おばあさん), is held for one extra beat compared to obasan (おばさん).

obasan (おばさん) = aunt

obaasan (おばあさん) = grandmother

Question 14

Pronounce in Japanese:

です / あります

desu / arimasu

(to be / to exist)

Answer 14

です / あります

desu / arimasu

In natural speech, the u sound at the end of desu (です) and arimasu (あります) is often very soft.

Therefore, desu (です) may sound like dess, and the formal verb ending -masu (-ます) may sound like -mas.

Question 15

Pronounce in Japanese:

さか / さっか

saka / sakka

(hill / author)

Answer 15

さか / さっか

saka / sakka

A small tsu (っ) marks a brief pause.

This pause is important for distinguishing words and verb forms.

saka (さか) = hill / slope

sakka (さっか) = author

Question 16

Pronounce in Japanese:

ビデオ / バンクーバー

bideo / bankuubaa

(video / Vancouver)

Answer 16

ビデオ / バンクーバー

bideo / bankuubaa

Japanese does not use all English consonant sounds.

When borrowing foreign words, unfamiliar sounds are adapted to the closest Japanese sound.

As a result, words beginning with “v” are often pronounced with “b”.

bideo (ビデオ) = Video

bankuubaa (バンクーバー) = Vancouver

Question 17

Pronounce in Japanese:

セラピー / ザ・ビートルズ

serapii / za biitoruzu

(therapy / The Beatles)

Answer 17

セラピー / ザ・ビートルズ

serapii / za biitoruzu

Japanese does not use all English consonant sounds.

When borrowing foreign words, unfamiliar sounds are adapted to the closest Japanese sound.

As a result, words beginning with “th” are often pronounced with “s” or “z”.

serapii (セラピー) = therapy

ザ・ビートルズ (za biitoruzu) = The Beatles

Question 18

Pronounce in Japanese:

とうきょう
きょうと
ふくおか
ニューヨーク

Answer 18

Toukyou
Kyouto
Fukuoka
Nyuuyooku

Toukyou とうきょう = Tokyo, four beats (to-u-kyo-u); both vowels are long

Kyouto きょうと = Kyoto, three beats (kyo-u-to); long kyou, short to

Fukuoka ふくおか = Fukuoka, four beats (fu-ku-o-ka); starts with a soft fu

Nyuuyooku ニューヨーク = New York, five beats (nyu-u-yo-o-ku), long nyuu and yoo