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Japanese Pronunciation
Phonetically simpler than English, but with pitch accent that most apps ignore.
- Vowels
- 5 pure vowels
- Timing
- Mora-timed
- Tones
- Pitch accent (non-tonal)
The vowels
Japanese has five vowels: a (as in father), i (as in machine), u (somewhere between English 'oo' and 'uh'), e (as in egg), o (as in go). They are always pronounced the same way. No silent vowels, no 'magic e.'
Long vowels (marked with an extra vowel character in hiragana or a dash in katakana) hold the vowel for twice as long. This changes meaning: obasan (aunt) vs obaasan (grandmother).
Mora timing
English is stress-timed (some syllables are louder and longer). Japanese is mora-timed: every syllable gets roughly equal length. Saying Tokyo (東京) aloud, 'to-u-kyo-u' has four beats of equal length, not two stressed ones.
This is what makes Japanese sound 'flat' to English ears when spoken by beginners. It's also the rhythm natives listen for.
Pitch accent
Japanese is not tonal like Chinese, but it does have pitch accent: each word has a pattern of high/low pitch that matters for comprehension. 橋 (hashi, bridge) and 箸 (hashi, chopsticks) are distinguished by pitch pattern.
Most beginner apps ignore pitch accent. Most native speakers are lenient with learners who get it wrong. But if you want to sound fluent, it's worth learning the patterns once you're past N4.
Related reading
Common questions
Is Japanese hard to pronounce?+
No, for English speakers Japanese pronunciation is relatively easy. The sound inventory is small and consistent.
Do I need to master pitch accent?+
Not to be understood. To sound natural, yes, eventually.