How to Pronounce the Japanese U Vowel

To begin practising voiced Japanese u, relax your lips rather than pushing them forward into a strong rounded shape. Keep the sound in a checked word. The TUFS vowel guide gives this lip cue and says that forced sideways spreading is unnecessary too.

Start with a voiced vowel

A vowel is a speech sound produced with a relatively open passage through the mouth. Voiced means that the vocal folds vibrate. This article starts with an ordinary audible vowel, so you can concentrate on its quality: what kind of vowel sound it is.

The written character is う (う, u, "the u vowel"). TUFS describes a small mouth opening and the back of the tongue raised, with relaxed lips that are not pushed forward. Follow the whole cue rather than interpreting relaxed as a requirement to open the mouth widely.

If you habitually push the lips forward for a familiar vowel in another language, notice that movement first. The university suggests beginning with a protruded-lip vowel and then relaxing the lips. Do not force a smile as the correction.

Use the sea example

Practise 海 (うみ, umi, "sea"), with its checked reading and meaning from the TUFS vocabulary entry.

The initial vowel is the part to inspect. Listen to a clear model for the word, make a gentle attempt, and check whether you pushed your lips forward. Then say the whole word again, including its ending.

Use a mirror only to notice the lip movement. It does not show the tongue position or prove that the sound matches. A short recording and a specific teacher comment can answer a different question from the visual check.

Keep the target small: a clearer first vowel in this one known word. Do not change the spelling, invent a new English spelling for it, or judge every vowel in a long sentence at once.

Separate quality from duration

Vowel quality is different from vowel duration, which is how long the sound lasts. The TUFS long-vowel explanation describes a long vowel as a lengthened version of the short vowel without a change in quality.

Holding your first attempt longer does not fix its lip position. Equally, finding a more suitable lip position is not a reason to shorten a vowel that should be long in another word.

Keep the checked duration of the word you selected. When timing is the actual problem, use the guide to small tsu and long vowels. Do not try to solve two different listening questions with one mouth cue.

Keep devoicing as a separate question

You may also have heard an almost missing u in some Japanese speech. That leads to the separate question covered by vowel devoicing, which concerns reduced or absent vocal-fold vibration in particular contexts.

Do not turn every written u into silence because of that pattern. For this exercise, use the audible vowel in the checked sea example. Learn the ordinary vowel model before asking why a different word sounds quieter.

Make one change and check it

Use a short comparison rather than a long repetition session:

1. Hear the checked word and read its kana.
2. Record one normal attempt.
3. Make another attempt while reducing forward lip protrusion.
4. Compare the first vowel beside the model, then listen to the complete word.
5. Keep the cue only if it helps you approach that model. Ask for feedback if you cannot hear the difference.

For a broader recall routine, see remembering word pronunciation. For your next step, find the u vowel on Inku's free hiragana chart, then return to the complete sea example with the same lip cue.

Sources

• TUFS pronunciation: Japanese vowels — Basic vowel articulation; the u vowel uses relaxed lips without forward protrusion or forced horizontal spreading. (checked 2026-10-17)
• TUFS vocabulary: sea — The written word, kana reading and English meaning sea used in the worked u practice. (checked 2026-10-17)
• TUFS pronunciation: vowel length — A long vowel lengthens the corresponding short vowel without changing its quality. The article uses this to distinguish quality from duration. (checked 2026-10-17)

Prepared by our editorial team with AI assistance. Product details are checked against the sources below.

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