How words and characters in Japanese sound when spoken aloud.
4
votes
1answer
217 views
Pronunciation of 家
In this sentence:
ゆうむら家の３人は、半年前にこの家を購入し、転居してきた。
この家を is pronounced as "kono yo" as opposed to "kono ie o".
And this phrase
あんたは一人でこの家から学校に通っている。
この家 is pronounced as "kono ye" as opposed ...
9
votes
4answers
688 views
When Chinese personal names are written in Japanese in kanji is there always an obvious reading?
In their comment to an answer on the question "Are foreign personal names usually written in katakana rather than Romaji?", user sawa says:
... Chinese names should be written in kanji rather than ...
8
votes
2answers
234 views
How do we decide if 中 is ちゅう or じゅう?
How do we decide if 中 is ちゅう or じゅう ?
For example, in this sentence １０人中３人はビデオを持っている which pronunciation should we use?
What about this: そのピアニストの演奏中、彼らは一心に耳を傾けた。
12
votes
1answer
298 views
Voiced or unvoiced syllables in compound words
Examples first.
First example: 空 {そら}. Almost all compound nouns for which 空 is the second component pronounce it as ぞら (zo ra): 青空 {あおぞら}, 夜空 {よぞら}, 星空 {ほしぞら}. There is at least one exception ...
13
votes
5answers
404 views
Modern names of the obsolete kana ゑ and ゐ
In modern Japanese, the kana ゑ/ヱ (we) and ゐ/ヰ (wi) are largely obsolete. Words formerly containing them now are pronounced with /e/ and /i/, so they were replaced by え and い, respectively.
But when ...
9
votes
2answers
387 views
Is it true that the べつに when used to mean “nothing particularly” is pronounced differently from when it is used to mean “separately / apart”?
Is it true that the べつに when used to mean "nothing particularly" is pronounced differently from when it is used to mean "separately / apart" ?
Like am I right to say that these 3 examples belong to ...
5
votes
4answers
149 views
Kanji 行 with なみ, なめ, みち and アン pronunciations
I have only found 行 being pronounced as いく, ゆく and おこなう for kun'yomi and as コウ and ギョウ for on'yomi, but my dictionary software also lists down なみ, なめ, みち and アン as the other pronunciations of this ...
10
votes
2answers
317 views
Does the letter “C” attract any superstition?
I've heard that the number four attracts superstition because of its similarity with the word for death. For example, yon is used instead of shi in some circumstances, and sometimes the number 4, ...
8
votes
3answers
188 views
do people actually, if ever, say みょうにち ?
Hi all I've heard people using あした (the common one) and あす (rather uncommon) to refer to "tomorrow".
I was wondering does anyone actually uses the reading みょうにち ?
8
votes
4answers
467 views
What changes are made to the pronunciation of gairaigo?
What changes are usually made to the pronounciation of gairaigo?
I notice that vowels are often added between multiple consonants and to the end of words (eg "programmer" => "puroguramaa" (プログラマー)), ...
11
votes
2answers
208 views
Do any of the Japanese particles have different pronunciations in any dialects? Or extra or missing particles?
I was wondering whether the differences in Japanese vocabulary between the dialects extend even so far as particles.
Are there dialects that pronounce any of the standard particles differently? ...
7
votes
1answer
109 views
Do the various verbs pronounced つく differ in intonation?
Related: Dissecting つく verbs
There are many verbs which are pronounced つく, and I was simply wondering: Do their intonation patterns differ?
If so, what are the intonation patterns of the most ...
4
votes
3answers
185 views
Is 門 read as かど or もん?
Is it more common to read 門 as かど or もん?
e.g. how would we pronounce the 門 in 彼らは門が開くのを待っていた。
12
votes
3answers
650 views
Actual phonetic realization of “devoiced” vowels
Descriptions of Japanese phonology (such as Wikipedia's) usually describe high vowels between voiceless consonants (or word-finally) as "devoiced". For example, the pronunciation of ⟨圧⟩ 'pressure' and ...
3
votes
4answers
366 views
How do we tell whether two hiragana should fit in one mora or two?
How do we tell whether 2 hiragana should fit in 1 "mora" or 2?
For example, why is it that 四季 and 士気 are pronounced as "Shiki" 1 mora, whereas 式 and 指揮 are pronounced as "Shi Ki" 2 morae? N.B. Links ...
7
votes
5answers
3k views
I am looking for an online Japanese dictionary with audio pronunciations
Does anyone know any online Japanese dictionary which provides audio reading?
11
votes
2answers
396 views
Pronunciation and meaning of
I just received an email ending like this:
是非是非また誘って
How to read the ?
Zero results on Google.
As for the meaning, is it equivalent to よ ?
14
votes
2answers
889 views
What does the little っ (tsu) signify when at the end of a word?
The small っ (tsu) is usually used before a consonant to indicate gemination, less technically known as doubled consonants, which is how they are transliterated in romaji.
I have seen it at the end of ...
14
votes
3answers
722 views
Why the “H” is pronounced Sh in some cases.
I came from Stack Overflow and new to Japanese language. Happy I found out about this great place.
My first question is about the rules of pronunciation of the letter "H".
Like "Hijutsu" or "Hiyori".
...
9
votes
2answers
351 views
Is there a difference between すみません (sumimasen) and すいません (suimasen?)
I'm at the proverbial izakaya and my friend tells me one is more polite. I think theyre the same. Who's right? When can I use one or the other?
22
votes
3answers
1k views
What are the differences between じ and ぢ, and ず and づ?
The Japanese hiragana and katakana syllabaries can mostly be described as phonetic. But there are two exceptions, the two pairs of syllables modified to be voiced with the dakuten diacritic which ...
11
votes
3answers
2k views
What's the difference between “さけ” (sake) “しゃけ” (shake)?
Today I saw onigiri claiming to contain "しゃけ" (shake), when I asked my friend what that was she said it was the same as "さけ" (sake), "salmon".
So are these two just different readings of a kanji, ...
9
votes
4answers
733 views
How do you pronounce the Japanese “r”?
How do you pronounce the Japanese "r"? Is it more like an "l" or something inbetween? Would there be any picture or video explaining it correctly, please link it!
30
votes
3answers
946 views
What are the rules regarding “mute vowels” (“u” after “s” and “i” after “sh”)?
When you first begin to learn Japanese you are taught that Japanese has no stress and each syllable should be pronounced equally.
You also learn that certain vowels are not pronounced, or only ...
10
votes
4answers
1k views
What is the difference between tori vs. dori?
In Aikido, different dojos seem to latch on to using either dori or tori when describing grabbing attacks. For instance one dojo might say:
Katate Dori
Another would say:
Katate Tori
Each dojo ...
14
votes
4answers
433 views
とっても versus とても
I've had a teacher flatly tell me that とっても is incorrect, but I do see it written here and there and I'm pretty sure I hear it as well. Is it just so informal relative to とても that I should never use ...
18
votes
2answers
899 views
Why are the particles “は” (ha⇒wa), “へ” (he⇒e), and “を” (wo⇒o) not spelled phonetically?
As far as I know only three words (or particles) have irregular, non-phonetic spelling in Japanese:
"は" - The topic particle is pronounced "wa" but the kana is otherwise pronounced "ha"
"へ" - The ...
17
votes
2answers
463 views
Why is は pronounced as わ when used as a topic particle?
The particle は is pronounced similarly to わ (unlike the rest of the ハ行 kana) when used as a particle; why is this? What historical shifts went on to cause this irregularity?
21
votes
4answers
1k views
How to choose between “よん” (yon) vs “し” (shi) for “四” (4) and “しち” (shichi) vs “なな” (nana) for “七” (7)?
Two numbers in Japanese have two pronunciation alternatives.
四 / 4 can be pronounced either "よん" (yon) or "し" (shi)
七 / 7 can be pronounced either "しち" (shichi) or "なな" (nana)
I know that "し" ...
17
votes
4answers
2k views
What is 「々」 and how does it affect meaning and pronunciation?
I've seen this symbol in various places, such as 「日々」, 「色々」, and 「人々」. What is it, and how does it affect the meaning and pronunciation of the word?
12
votes
3answers
572 views
Why is 「昨夜」 pronounced as 「ゆうべ」 {yuube} and 「今日」 as 「きょう」 {kyou}?
「ゆう」 is neither the kun'yomi nor on'yomi of 「昨」 and 「べ」 is not a pronunciation of 「夜」 either. The same can be said about the pronunciation 「きょう」 for 「今日」.
So how come the pronunciations of the two ...
12
votes
4answers
325 views
Pronunciation of 閾値 : いきち or しきいち?
Last week I saw the word 閾値 and when looking it up in Gjiten I see two pronunciations, both marked as "popular":
閾値 (いきち) (n) threshold (amount, dose, etc.); (P);
閾値 (しきいち) (n) threshold (amount, ...
16
votes
5answers
1k views
Pronouncing が as 'nga'
I'm a beginner and am learning from CD (Pimsleur). There are two native speakers going through the dialogue. One, the man, pronounces が as I would expect - 'ga'. The other (female) pronounces it as ...
17
votes
4answers
1k views
What differences should I look out for between male vs female speech?
I was told a story where a male westerner learnt Japanese from his girlfriend and ended up speaking more like a female. The storyteller thought this was hilarious.
What important differences should I ...
