# Pronunciation

https://langs123.com/en/japanese/foundations/pronunciation/
CEFR A0–A2 · 2026-10-24 · CC BY 4.0, langs123 contributors (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

> Japanese has five pure vowels, equal beats, a tapped r, whispered vowels in **です** and **ます**, and pitch accent in place of stress. Say every kana as one beat of the same length, with a short, pure vowel: **さ・く・ら**

## Summary

| Point | Rule | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vowels | Five short, pure vowels; they never glide. | **あおい** | blue |
| Beats | One kana, one beat; **ん**, **っ** and a long vowel add beats. | **と・う・きょ・う** | Tokyo |
| The r | The **ら** row is a single quick tap of the tongue. | く**る**ま | car |
| **ふ**, **つ** | **ふ** is air between the lips; **つ** is /ts/ plus /ɯ/. | **ふ**ゆ / **つ**き | winter / moon |
| Whispered vowels | The u of **です** and **ます**, and an i or u between voiceless sounds, are whispered. | コーヒーを飲のみ**ます**。 | I drink coffee. |
| **ん** | **ん** takes the nasal sound of what follows and keeps one beat. | え**ん**ぴつ | pencil |
| Pitch | Pitch, not loudness, tells words apart; after a fall it does not rise again. | **雨****あめ** / **あめ** | rain / candy |
| Patterns | Four patterns: high first, flat, high in the middle, high at the end. | **橋****はし**が / **はし**が | the bridge / the edge |
| Trap | A long vowel lasts two beats; shortened, it names another word. | **おじいさん** | grandfather |
| Trap | No beat is louder: say **さくら** low, high, high. | **さくら** | cherry blossom |

## The five vowels

| Sound | Kana | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| /a/ | **あ** | あさ | morning |
| /i/ | **い** | いし | stone |
| /ɯ/ | **う** | うた | song |
| /e/ | **え** | えき | station |
| /o/ | **お** | おと | sound |

- Each vowel is short and pure: the mouth holds one shape and the sound does not glide.
- **う** is /ɯ/: the lips stay relaxed and do not round.
- Two vowels in a row stay two beats, not one glide: **あおい** has three. **あ・お・い** (blue)

## The mora

- Japanese counts beats, called morae, not syllables: **とうきょう** has four. For the kana that write them, see Kana Sounds.

| Rule | Example | Beats |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Each kana is one beat. | さくら | さ・く・ら | cherry blossom |
| A small **ゃ**, **ゅ** or **ょ** joins the kana before it. | きょう | きょ・う | today |
| **ん** is a full beat. | ほん | ほ・ん | book |
| A small **っ** is a full beat of silence. | きって | き・っ・て | stamp |
| A long vowel lasts two beats. | おおきい | お・お・き・い | big |

## Consonants

| Sound | Kana | Example |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| /ɾ/ | **ら** | くるま | car |
| /ɸ/ | **ふ** | ふゆ | winter |
| /ɕ/ | **し** | しお | salt |
| /tɕ/ | **ち** | ちず | map |
| /ts/ | **つ** | つき | moon |
| /dʑ/ | **じ** | じかん | time |

- The **ら** row is one quick tap of the tongue tip behind the upper teeth: /ɾ/.
- **ふ** is /ɸ/: air passes between the lips, as when blowing out a candle.
- **つ** is /ts/ plus /ɯ/, and it can begin a word.
- **し**, **ち** and **じ** press the flat of the tongue against the palate: /ɕ/, /tɕ/, /dʑ/.

## Devoiced vowels

- A devoiced vowel is whispered: the mouth shapes it, but the voice does not sound.
- A whispered vowel keeps its beat: **です** still has two.

| Rule | Example | Sound |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| The u of **です** is whispered. | 学生がくせいです。 | /desɯ̥/ | I am a student. |
| The u of **ます** is whispered. | 食たべます。 | /tabemasɯ̥/ | I eat. |
| An i or u between two voiceless sounds is whispered. | 聞きく | /ki̥kɯ/ | to listen |
| An i or u next to a voiced sound keeps its voice. | 来きます。 | /kimasɯ̥/ | I come. |

## The sounds of ん

| Rule | Example | Sound |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Before **p**, **b**, **m**: /m/. | えんぴつ | /empitsɯ/ | pencil |
| Before **t**, **d**, **n**, **r**, **s**, **z**: /n/. | 先生せんせい | /senseː/ | teacher |
| Before **k**, **g**: /ŋ/. | りんご | /riŋɡo/ | apple |
| At the end of a word, or before a vowel, y, w or h: /ɴ/. | 本ほん | /hoɴ/ | book |

- The change is automatic: **ん** follows the next sound and always lasts one beat.

## Pitch accent

- Japanese marks words by pitch, high and low, not by a louder syllable.
- The first two beats differ: if the first is low, the second is high, and the reverse.
- After the pitch falls, it does not rise again inside the word.
- In the transcriptions, /˥/ is high and /˩/ is low; the pitch is that of Tokyo.

| Pattern | Example | Pitch |  |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| **あたまだか** (high at the start): high first, then low. | 雨あめが | /a˥me˩ga˩/ | rain |
| **へいばん** (flat): low, then high to the end; the particle stays high. | 友達ともだちが | /to˩mo˥da˥tɕi˥ga˥/ | friend |
| **なかだか** (high in the middle): low, high, then a fall inside the word. | 先生せんせいが | /se˩n˥se˥i˩ga˩/ | teacher |
| **おだか** (high at the end): low, then high to the end; the particle falls. | 橋はしが | /ha˩si˥ga˩/ | bridge |
| The same sounds, a different pitch, a different word. | 雨あめ / あめ | /a˥me˩/ /a˩me˥/ | rain / candy |
| A particle shows the difference when the word alone sounds the same. | 橋はしが / はしが | /ha˩si˥ga˩/ /ha˩si˥ga˥/ | the bridge / the edge |

## Typical errors

| ✗ | ✓ |  |
| --- | --- | --- |
| おじさん | **おじいさん** | a long vowel is two beats: shortened, **おじいさん** (“grandfather”) becomes **おじさん** (“uncle”) |
| /kɯɹɯma/ | /kɯɾɯma/ | the r of the **ら** row is a tap of the tongue tip, not the English /ɹ/ |
| /fɯ/ | /ɸɯ/ | **ふ** is /ɸ/ with both lips: the teeth do not touch the lip |
| /ohajoʊ/ | /ohajoː/ | the vowel of **おはよう** stays pure and long, /oː/, not the English glide /oʊ/ |
| /saˈkɯɾa/ | /sa˩kɯ˥ɾa˥/ | pitch, not loudness, marks the word: **さくら** is low, high, high |