発音. How the Japanese language is pronounced. For questions about which readings to use for particular kanji, use the "readings" tag instead.
3
votes
3answers
153 views
How to pronounce ❛ た❜？
I am learning Japanese at a beginner's level. I am wondering how to pronounce the letter ❛ た❜ because according to the chart it should be pronounce as ta , but in listening materials and everyday ...
3
votes
2answers
86 views
How are numbers pronounced in (movie) titles? (i.e. ジョーズ３)
For example, ジョーズ３ (i.e. "Jaws Three") is in a list of movies. Would the "3" be pronounced "さん"? Typically, counter words follow after a number in Japanese. And sometimes the number's reading ...
4
votes
2answers
2k views
Which language レシート is adapted from?
レシート is supposed to mean receipt. The adaptation of the word looks a bit odd to me. If it comes from English, why does it lose the "p"? Why it uses a "shii" sound instead of a "ce" (to me there are ...
4
votes
1answer
82 views
Different pitch accent patterns of もっとも?
The word もっとも has a few different uses. For example, jisho.org lists the following:
最も（もっとも）
Adverb
most; extremely
Other forms
最も 【もとも】、尤も 【もっとも&#...
6
votes
1answer
114 views
How to pronounce noun compounds
How do I determine the pronounication of compound nouns such as 来年夏.
Obviously 来年の夏 is pronounced らいねんのなつ but what happens when I remove the の? Does it just become らいねんなつ? My guess from everything I'...
4
votes
1answer
90 views
い Pronunciations
I've wondered this for a while now but never thought to ask it until now. With regards to the い sound in Japanese, I understand that it's pronounced like a sort of shorter version of the e sound in "...
4
votes
1answer
349 views
Prolonged sounds in place of an を
I have noticed them in speech in several expressions:
ざまあみろ
手エ、出して
気イ抜くなよ
They are clearly an informal (if i have got it right) variant of を. But how common is this phenomenon? What ...
2
votes
0answers
73 views
What common words are written one way - but almost always pronounced a different way? (eg. 言う is generally spoken as 「ゆう」)
I am aware that [行く]{いく} is sometimes read 「ゆく」 but I do not think it is mostly read as 「ゆく」except in combinations. 例えば、行く手・行く先・行く春.
Whereas I almost never hear 言う as いう. These are the only two ...
0
votes
1answer
155 views
Pronouncing さ and ざ [duplicate]
How do you pronounce さ and ざ in Japanese? I understand that they are voiced and voiceless but how do you say them? I am currently learning Japanese.
I am English, I can say "bus" and "buzz". However, ...
1
vote
0answers
127 views
Words in the Kagoshima dialect
Using this Wikipedia article here, I learnt that words in Standard Japanese may encounter something called sonorant gliding while converting to Kagoshima dialect. For what is written here, these are ...
5
votes
2answers
167 views
Why is 輩 in 先輩 pronounced ぱい while 輩 in 後輩 is pronounced はい?
I wonder in this case if there is any rule that turns H to P.
1
vote
1answer
101 views
What is the correct pronunciation of 唯一
For the word (or composition of two words): 唯一,
sometimes also written as: 唯一つ,
Two possible pronunciations come to my mind:
ゆいいつ [yuiitsu] -onyomi
and
ただ ひとつ [tada hitotsu] -kunyomi
Which one is ...
1
vote
1answer
133 views
What dialect replaces です with a shorter version of it (ーす)?
The title pretty much explains itself, here is an example: Nio from Akuma no Riddle, the whole thing has been bugging me for awhile, thanks in advance.
1
vote
0answers
68 views
Pitch accent in combination with the を particle
I learnt that a word like 花 (はな) is of pitch pattern (2), i.e. with a drop after the last mora in case it is followed by a particle. Yet, when I hear people use a word like this is combination with ...
1
vote
1answer
719 views
Should you say English loanwords in the Japanese pronunciation?
For example, if an American travels to Japan, would they ask for "kohi" in a "koppu", maybe a "foku" for their "supagetti", or would they use "coffee", "fork", etc.?
Which would be more socially ...
0
votes
0answers
47 views
Why is だいがく pronounced as daingaku instead of daigaku? [duplicate]
I was listening to a recording of a Japanese person pronouncing daigaku as in university. And the g sounded like ng. Why is this so? Should I pronounce it like that as well?
Thanks.
1
vote
1answer
99 views
pronunciation of は [duplicate]
Hello I'm a beginner and I'm wondering when to use the right pronunciation of は, because sometimes it's pronounced "ha" and sometimes "wa".
1
vote
3answers
239 views
What's the difference between “sa” and “za” with pronunciation?
Background
I am currently trying to learn Japanese and I've done really well in my opinion (IMO). I am trying to learn about voiced consonants with Hiragana.
What I need to know
I know you must ...
-1
votes
1answer
109 views
Is it Amekakure or Amegakure?
In Naruto the village hidden in rain is called Amegakure in English Version and Pronounced like "Ame-ga-kure" in both Japanese and English Version.
But if you try to translate the kanji of this 雨隠れの里 ...
-1
votes
1answer
286 views
Pronouncing “Tsu” and “R” sound in Japanese
I've been learning Japanese but I am having trouble with pronouncing a few sounds, including "Tsu" and the R sound.
When I pronounce "Tsu", do I say Tsk with my teeth together or make a fizzy kind of ...
0
votes
0answers
53 views
Rendaku for jukugo combinations
From my studies of Japanese, I know that it is common for certain jukugo expressions to be juxtaposed without an intervening particle (usually a noun+noun combination without a の). What I wanted to ...
3
votes
1answer
45 views
What sort of intonation should I have when using だろう/でしょう?
Pretty straightforward question. When using だろう or でしょう as a way to express unassertiveness on my sentence (i.e., "it seems", "it looks like"), what intonation should I use? Does it follow a pattern ...
1
vote
2answers
196 views
How do you find pitch accent? Is it important?
I've seen some people say it is unecessary to learn pitch accent, but with my current knowledge, there are multiple ways to say a word with pitch accent and if you don't know the pitch accent, the ...
0
votes
1answer
100 views
What's the correct pronunciation of 思 in と思つ? [closed]
In this manga, 思 is being pronounced as おもう.
However, on Google Translate, I'm getting shita. (In the same sentence: かわいいと思うよ.)
Why is this?
0
votes
1answer
89 views
Japanese phrase about risk
I heard in anime a phrase related to risk, like "all or nothing". It sounded like "icka backa" but I can't find the exact phrase.
8
votes
2answers
235 views
How to pronounce “×”?
The symbol × is sometimes used in titles like 「ラビ×ラビ -パズルアウトストーリーズ-」 or headlines like this one: 「スシロー×寿司ストライカー スペシャルキャンペーン」.
I imagine native speakers who read it might pronounce it as と, since it ...
1
vote
1answer
91 views
ズボン pronunciation variation & explanation for
I've heard it pronounced both low_high and high_low. Can anyone explain the meaning/reason behind the variation? (ie. difference in nuance, formal/casual, regional dialect, etc.) Ideally, I'd like to ...
0
votes
1answer
234 views
Why does Duolingo say that 中 is pronounced “naka” but spelled ちゅう?
I am currently doing the beta course for Japaneses on duolingo. In one of the lessons, I was confronted with this question which I kept getting wrong:
When I play the sound, the voice clearly says "...
1
vote
0answers
25 views
Correct pronunciation of「ひ」 [duplicate]
I used to pronounce it as "Hi" but recently i paid keen attention to natives speaking words like 「広い」、「低い」 and I find out they pronounce it as somewhat "che" but when i try to say "che" what comes out ...
0
votes
1answer
88 views
Why isn't the う (u) in どうして being pronounced?
According to Google Translate the phrase is pronounced dōshite (I've also heard it pronounced like that in anime and movies).
I couldn't help noticing that the う (u) isn't being pronounced. Why is ...
2
votes
0answers
40 views
How do you know when to use rendaku? What are the words that always/never use it? [duplicate]
I know there are some words that always have rendaku （花）and some that never use it. Is there a rule for rendaku or does it depend on the word? Thanks in advance!
0
votes
1answer
51 views
「卯月」 pronounced as 「うすき」(?)
In a scene from the Japanese movie 「四月物語」, the heroine introduced herself, saying 「[卯月]{うづき}です」, which is her given name.
The 「月」 part is kind of whispered (?) , and sounds to me more close to 「すき」.
...
0
votes
0answers
76 views
How do we know when words with the same furigana have different pronunciations?
In Chinese, you have four tonal inflections. (See the first graphic at the link.) Prior to today I thought that this was not true of Japanese, that while like English, certain words sound better ...
1
vote
1answer
97 views
What is the difference between う and お when they come after an -o sound? Ex. とお and とう
I've seen some words with とお and とう and I was wondering how are you supposed to know which one, and if there is any difference in pronunciation.
3
votes
2answers
179 views
What does it mean and how do you pronounce あっ?
I saw someone talk about a 「はあっ」that they saw in a book, so I looked it up but didn't find much, just some words/sites that had あっ in them. (I couldn't read the rest) I was wondering how one might ...
1
vote
1answer
95 views
What does っ mean and how to pronounce it when it comes before a character with nothing before it? Ex. っか
I am a beginner in Japanese who is not even done learning katakana yet, so forgive me if this is a noob question. I know that when っ comes before a character, say the word was まって, there would be a ...
1
vote
1answer
125 views
Why is it 二ヶ月 and not 二か月? [duplicate]
I was studying kanji, and this word came up. I know the romaji is nikagetsu, meaning two months, so I was a little confused as to why it has a little "ケ". Do you know if this is correct, and if it is,...
2
votes
0answers
47 views
About the word Akagami [duplicate]
So my question is very simple. I know that Akagami means red hair but isn't hair in japanese named "kami"? I want to understand why it is akagami instead of akakami. Hope this question doesn't sound ...
3
votes
2answers
190 views
ほ /ho/ pronunciation
I've just started using Mango's On-the-Go (meaning "audio-only version") Japanese course. (It's free from my library. They also have Pimsleur, though their only copy is in use right now.)
I think I'...
2
votes
1answer
63 views
Ambiguity about -masu forms of ていく and てくる in informal speech
いく and くる are usually considered a pair of antonyms and ていく and てくる is a pair of common constructions from them. When conjugated to the masu form, the first one becomes ていきます and the second one ...
0
votes
0answers
150 views
Is there an intuitive way to speak unknown Japanese words without having to search it up the furigana?
To be specific, I`m directing this question to intermediate/advanced learners. Do you guys eventually notice any patterns or trends on certain kanji pronunciation, and manage to instinctively know ...
6
votes
1answer
176 views
IPA for ふーん/んふふ (pronounced with your mouth closed)
I know that ふ is normally pronounced as [ɸɯ]. But ふ is sometimes used to represent a clearly different sound that occasionally appears in spoken Japanese, and I'm having trouble identifying its IPA ...
2
votes
0answers
109 views
Allophones: /e/ as [j] , /kj/ as [k͡xj]?
I noticed a few pronounciations which surprised me.
https://youtu.be/MQmJYGBpBXM?t=20m8s
In this clip, and in a lot of other movies, 返して, /kaeɕ.te/ sounds like [kaɪ̯ɕ.te] to me. Is there a rule?:
/e/...
1
vote
1answer
131 views
オウ pronounced as ō or ou
First of all, I know next to nothing about Japanese, but this question came up to me recently. I was playing this board game called Shadow Hunters with my friends and on the cards below the English ...
4
votes
1answer
147 views
The yomikata of 十三
This has been obsessing me for quite a while. While 十三 is normally pronounced ジュウサン, it is often pronounced ジュウゾウ in people's names and also pronounced ジュウソウ in names of places. I am wondering how ...
2
votes
2answers
293 views
Doesn't 助けて follow the usual pitch accent rule?
助ける itself is ③, so according to the rule 助けて would become ② as 逃れる 休める etc. do.
However, I myself find it extremely unnatural to say たすけて in ② rather than ③, and as I tried it on my iPhone, iOS ...
3
votes
3answers
297 views
IPA for the pronunciation of つづく
How do you pronounce "つづく"?
[tsɯ̥dzɯkɯ] or [tsɯdzɯkɯ] or [tsɯzɯkɯ]
Any comment are welcomed, as long as you know how to use IPA to transcribe human speech.
---3/23 night---
Wiktionary: [...
7
votes
1answer
346 views
Why is [好]{す}き pronounced with a voiceless/almost silent U, but [隙]{すき} is not?
Why is [好]{す}き pronounced with a voiceless/almost silent U, but [隙]{すき} is not?
I've used 2 sound sample sources for both, Jisho and Rikai sama. They both pronounce the first (like) with a voiceless ...
3
votes
1answer
210 views
Do Japanese tend to pronounce some syllables ending to “-い” radically shorter than the others, by just voicing and dragging out the consonant sound?
It almost seems Japanese pronounce certain syllables ending to "-い" the way Chinese do. To my ear じ, し and some others sound like they are just consonants with the vowel at the end left out.
In ...
1
vote
1answer
105 views
Pronunciation of 大罪
There's a Japanese manga/anime series called Nanatsu no taizai (七つの大罪, ), which is pronounced as
ななつのたいざい
as one can clearly hear in this intro or see in its Wikipedia page.
However, the word 「大罪」...
