Explore Japanese vocabulary interactively.
Click on one of the buttons below to get started.
Japanese Pronunciation Guide for English Speakers
Japanese has five steady vowel phonemes and a relatively small set
of consonant patterns. Vowels are short and even, without the
diphthong glides common in English. Consonant variation across
regions is minimal compared to Spanish, though pitch accent differs
by dialect. This guide uses IPA and examples in Hepburn romanization
and kana.
| Japanese Sound |
Pronunciation Symbol |
Example (Japanese) |
Similar English Sound |
| a |
/a/ |
さか saka |
Like the first vowel in "father" but shorter and steadier
|
| i |
/i/ |
いし ishi |
"ee" in "machine" but shorter
|
| u |
/ɯ/ |
ふゆ fuyu |
Close to "oo" in "food," but unrounded; lips are relaxed
|
| e |
/e/ |
てん ten |
Between "bet" and "bait" but without a glide
|
| o |
/o/ |
とき toki |
"o" in "story" but shorter and purer
|
| r (らりるれろ) |
/ɾ/ (tap) |
らく raku |
A single flap, like the quick "tt" in American "butter"
|
| f (ふ) |
/ɸ/ |
ふじ Fuji |
Between English "f" and "h," lips lightly rounded
|
| tsu (つ) |
/t͡s/ |
つき tsuki |
"ts" in "cats" |
| shi (し) |
/ɕi/ |
しろ shiro |
Like "she" in English but softer, with spread lips
|
| chi (ち) |
/t͡ɕi/ |
ちいさい chiisai |
"chee" in "cheese" but with tongue closer to "sh"
|
| g intervocalic |
/ŋ/ ~ /ɡ/ variation |
かぐ kagu → [kaŋɯ] in some dialects
|
"ng" in "song" or "g" in "go," depending on region
|
| long consonants |
[kk], [ss], etc. |
がっこう gakkō |
Like holding the consonant slightly longer than in English
|
| long vowels |
[aa], [ii], [uu], [ee], [oo]
|
おばあさん obāsan |
Simply prolong the vowel, no change in quality
|
Pitch Accent
Japanese does not use word stress like English or Spanish. Instead,
it has pitch accent: one syllable (or mora) is pronounced with a
higher pitch, and following syllables may drop. For example,
はし can mean "chopsticks" (HAshi, high–low) or
"bridge" (haSHI, low–high). Pitch accent patterns differ between
Tokyo and Kansai dialects.
Helpful Notes
Japanese is mora-timed: rhythm is based on equal units (morae)
rather than stress. Double consonants and long vowels count as extra
morae. The syllabic
ん /N/ can assimilate to [m], [n], [ŋ], or [ɴ]
depending on what follows. Geminate stops (っ) cause a pause before
the consonant.
