Tell me more ×
Japanese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

So 運 is spelled うん, but I seem to hear most of my friends pronounce it as　あん. My friends and family are 20-60 years of age and come from mostly Tokyo and Ibaraki area. I am living in the US now and so am not speaking much Japanese, but I remember trying to pronounce it as うん and being misunderstood till I pronounced it as あん (or maybe more like a nasal ahn). Is this a regional dialect? Does anyone pronounce it as うん? Which way should I pronounce it to be understood by most Japanese?

share|improve this question
1  
Can you describe the geographical location and the context? – sawa Feb 18 '12 at 3:08
1  
I pronounce it as うん. – istrasci Feb 18 '12 at 3:29
1  
Just to clarify, are you quite sure that it was あん (with a vowel at the front) and not just ん or んー? – Matt Feb 18 '12 at 4:32
Yeah. the weird thing is i didnt remember this until i saw a japanese speaker write a journal entry in english where she wrote it with the romaji spelling An. I thought to myself why didnt she write Un, but then i remember the few times i had encountered it myself. I guess I'll ask my friends. – yadokari Feb 18 '12 at 4:54
1  
I can just about imagine [ɯɯ̃] being misheard as [ʌn] by an English speaker... – Zhen Lin Feb 18 '12 at 11:09
show 6 more comments

1 Answer

up vote 2 down vote accepted

I'm sure it is pronounced as Un~

I lived in ibaraki and they used "un" when we discussed it in benkyoukai. Haven't heard "an" used before.

share|improve this answer

Your Answer

 
discard

By posting your answer, you agree to the privacy policy and terms of service.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.