Japanese Pronunciation
Crash Course in Japanese pronunciation. Cheat sheet at the bottom.
Pitch Accent
Japanese has 2 pitches, High and low. However its easier to think about it as high and normal.
“high” might also be misleading. saying high sounds louder (tiny bit) will also get the job done.
Mostly, you just need to be aware that it exists, and try to hear it.
In standard Japanese, arigatou is ありがとう (ri is high, rest are low). Try listening for this.
Generally, English goes up and down, but Japanese tends follow one of a few patterns
low then high at some point. When it comes back down, it’ll stay low.
High then low. it will stay low.
Low, high, low.
I don’t feel qualified to talk about this in much depth, so here are some links to some people who are:
Yudai先生 (If you’re already pretty good at Japanese)
SpeakJapaneseNaturally (If you’re still beginning Japanese)
Consonant Sounds
Most consonant sounds are as you expect, except R and F.
To make the R sound:
- position your tongue halfway between where it is when you say l and d. Try it with ra (easiest)
To make the F sound:
- Bite lip as lightly as you can. Should be close to H.
Additionally “tu” and “ti” do not (really) exist in Japanese. Instead they are tsu and chi.
Vowel Sounds
Japanese only has 5 vowel sounds.
- あ (ah)
- い (e)
- う (ooh)
- え (eh)
- お (oh)
Long Sounds
Japanese has long and short (regular) sounds.
Long sounds need to be held longer than short ones (surprise). It may help to imagine saying the sound again, but not stopping saying the sound originally.
- ah-ah ->aah
Long sounds occur when the vowel sound repeats side by side in the word.
Examples:
- ああ (aa)
- いい (ii)
- きい (kii)
- しい (shii)
In the case of お(oh), either お(oh) or う(ooh) may be used to indicate a long sound. う is the most commonly used (99% of cases). Only a few exceptions use お instead of う
Examples:
- こおり (koori)
- そう (sou)
In katakana, long sounds may also be written with a ー
- コーヒー（ko-hi-) (koohii)
Doubled consonants
Japanese can also have doubled consonants. These are denoted with a small っ or ッ. They cause the next consonant sound to be doubled. To say them, you say the previous vowel with the next consonant, then the consonant again and its vowel. (hard to explain, look at examples)
English example: But-ter. (say but, then ter)
Examples:
- きって(kitte)
- かえって(kaette)
- いって(itte)
(Usually) Unpronounced Sounds
some vowels are not pronounced in specific places.
This is best left to experience to learn, but the rules are:
- In the middle of words if い or う falls between K,S,T,or H, it is not usually voiced.
- At the end of words, う and い are not usually voiced.
This is a technical explanation, but just try to remember where you aren’t hearing sounds. In beginner pages, I’ll try to use strikethrough to show you where not to pronounce.
Examples:
- です(des
u) - すこし(sukosh
i) - あたらしく (atarash
iku)
Cheat Sheet
| Sound Type | How to write | How to say | Examples | Romaji |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Long | HIragana: repeated vowel, add う for お, katakana: ー | Pretend you are saying the vowel sound twice, but without stopping ah-ah → ahh | きいろ コーヒー そう ありがとう | kiiro ko-hi- sou arigatou |
| Doubled consonant | small つ or ツ | say the vowel +consonant, then the next consonant again + its vowel. Like but-ter | かえって ゲット | kaette getto |
| (Usually) Unpronounced vowels | い orう falling between SHTK, at the end of words after SHTK | Just don't say it | よろしく です | yorosh des |
| R | ら,り,る,れ,ろ | Tongue halfway between La and Da positions. Don't try to forcibly add an "R" sound. | ありがとう よろしく | arigatou yorosh |
| F | ふ、フ | Bite lip very slightly. Should be closer to H sound. | ふりがな ふる | furigana furu |