It's much easier for English-speaking people to learn the natural Japanese pronunciation than it is for Japanese speakers to learn the natural English pronunciation. The reason for this is that all the sounds used in the Japanese language are based on the five vowels listed in the next section.
Here's the secret to Japanese pronunciation. With a few exceptions, the entire Japanese language is built on the following 5 sounds. Mastery of these sounds is the first step to sounding native when you speak. Click the sound icon to listen. They should be said short with no glide.
Normal Vowels
a = akai
i = inochi
u = uma
e = ebi
o = otoko
These vowels remain constant for every Japanese phonetic sound. It doesn't matter what roman letter comes in front of the vowel the sound will not change for that vowel.
The phonetic sound ka is pronounced “kah”
The phonetic sound shi is pronounced “shee"”
The phonetic sound tsu is pronounced “tsoo”
The phonetic sound ne is pronounced “neh”
The phonetic sound po is pronounced “poh”
Double Vowels
The following lengthened vowels are pronounced like the vowels above, but are held twice as long.
aa, a- = okaasan
ii, i- = ojiisan
uu, u- = kuuki
ee, ei, e- = oneesan
oo, ou, o- = otousan
Be Careful
The meaning of Japanese words can change by the length of the syllables in the word. Look at the following examples to see how accidentally lengthening or shortening a word can change its meaning.
Examples
ie = house
iie = no
obasan = aunt
obaasan = grandmother
ojisan = uncle
ojiisan = grandfather
Double consonants
Double consonants such as kk, pp, tt, (also including cch) must be stressed more than a single consonant or the meaning might change. Here are some common examples of words that are easily confused if the double consonants are ignored.
Examples
roku = six (6)
rokku = rock (music)
uta = song
utta = sold (past tense informal verb)
mata = again
matta = to have waited
Cutoff and Whispered Sounds
Cutoff Sounds
Japanese, much like English sometimes doesn't always follow it's own rules. Sometimes words sound different than they are spelled. Luckily in Japanese this isn't so common.
Let's look at a very common word that is often pronounced differently than you might expect.
Desu
Whispered Sounds
Keep your eye open for sounds that are "whispered". Whispered sounds are sounds that are said much quieter than the other sounds around it.
