Japanese pronunciation for English speakers

Japanese has fewer sounds than English. That sounds easier, and in some ways it is. The difficulty is rhythm and length. Here is what to watch.

Five clean vowels

Japanese has five vowels: a, i, u, e, o. They stay short and steady. Avoid gliding the o in "go" or the e in "ke" into a second sound.

Long and short vowels

Vowel length changes meaning. "Obasan" means aunt. "Obaasan" means grandmother. Hold a long vowel for about twice as long as a short one.

Double consonants

A double consonant has a small pause before it. "Kite" means come. "Kitte" means stamp. Hold the pause for a beat before the second consonant.

The Japanese r

The r is a quick tap with the tongue, between the English r, d and l. It is close to the middle sound in "butter" in many English accents. Do not curl your tongue back.

Even rhythm

Japanese gives each beat about the same length. English stresses some syllables and squashes others. Try to say "Ha-ji-me-ma-shi-te" with each part equal.

Pitch

Japanese uses pitch, not stress, to tell some words apart. "Hashi" can mean chopsticks or bridge, depending on the pitch. You will learn the patterns through listening. Ask your partner to say pairs of words aloud.

How to practise

• Listen and repeat short phrases.
• Record yourself and compare with a native speaker.
• Ask your partner to point out length and pitch errors.

A native speaker will hear what you miss. See how to find a language partner, or Japanese on Nearly Fluent.