Questions tagged [pronunciation]
発音. How the Japanese language is pronounced. For questions about which readings to use for particular kanji, use the "readings" tag instead.
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Distinguishing meaning of 「 庭」 and 「には」aurally
In the sentence, 「私の家の庭には小さな池があります」 the sound 「には」 appears twice in a row. When listening but without any writing to inform interpretation, how will I know whether to interpret the first 「には」 sound as ...
2
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1answer
107 views
Distinguishing polite form and potential form in speech
Not sure if this question is opinion based, but I think it's worth trying to ask.
Can native/fluent speakers easily distinguish the sound difference between the polite and potential forms of a verb in ...
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1answer
107 views
What's the etymological linkage of 「眉{まゆ}」and「繭{まゆ}」?
I found the etymology of 「眉{まゆ}」 from 眉／まゆ - 語源由来辞典
眉は目の上にあることから、「マノウヘ（目の上）」もしくは「マウヘ（目上）」の意味と考えられる。
ただし、古くは「マヨ」と言い、「マヨ」が音変化して「まゆ」となっている。
そのため、「マノウヘ」「マウヘ」が直接音変化したものではなく、「目の上」の意味を表す言葉に「マヨ」があり、...
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How does one pronounce ≒ the symbol for “approximately”?
It appeared simply as "縮尺：≒1/82" and the meaning is quite clear (="approximately 1/82 scale").
Jim Breen's wwwjdic does not seem to contain an entry for the symbol.
jisho.org ...
2
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2answers
207 views
What is the pronunciation and meaning of 乙って?
I was in the middle of reading a light novel, and I've come across "乙って" at least twice so far. I can't really figure out what it means nor how it's pronounced.
I found it in this sentence ...
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2answers
173 views
How to read 艶肌 in 艶肌メイク
Question: How is the 艶肌 in 艶肌メイク ("glossy skin make-up") pronounced?
Context: An Instagram influencer used 艶肌メイク in one of their posts.
Background: I struggle with newly coined Japanese ...
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1answer
182 views
Pronunciation of long o (e.g. in Street Fighter)—“oo” or “ou”?
I have very little knowledge regarding Japanese, but I'm curious about the pronunciation of the long o. In Street Fighter, according to my basic research, the "ō" in "hadōken" is ...
2
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1answer
113 views
How to explain the katakana spelling for a foreign name with a long vowel?
Apologies in advance if the title of my question is unclear. Please edit if you can think of a better way to phrase it!
From time to time, you need to explain how a foreign name is spelled in ...
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1answer
249 views
「気にはなれない」- Pronunciation and Parts
I recently came across the term,「気にはなれない」, which seems to align with the phrase "cannot bring oneself to..." in English per the following examples from jisho.org:
私は彼の話を信じる気にはなれない。
I can't ...
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1answer
104 views
宿命 Pronunciation [duplicate]
How do you pronounce “宿命”? Google says it is pronounced “しゅくめい“ but I listened it being pronounced as “さだめ“ in a song, which also is “定め”
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1answer
157 views
Usage of the sound ウェ ''we'' in Duolingo
Duolingo introduces the sound ''we'' as ウェ.
According to my phonetics chart this should be ''ue'' read as one mora, not ''we''.
I did a bit of research and discovered that ゑ and ヱ used to exist for ...
5
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1answer
541 views
頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る, why the change in pronunciation?
As the title suggests, why is there a change in pronunciation between 頭【かぶり】を振る and 頭【かしら】を横に振る? As far as I can see, there is no difference between the meanings of the two—デジタル大辞泉 even lists the ...
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Double/ordinal number expression [duplicate]
I would like to know the pronunciation for these following expressions:
i) (1, 2日), (6, 7日), (7, 8日), (8, 9日), (8, 10日), (18~20日)
ii) 第2日, 第3日, 第4日, 第5日, 第6日, 第7日, 第8日, 第9日, 第10日, 第20日
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126 views
contradictory evidence for 何に as (1) なんに and (2) なにに
is 何に pronounced (1) なんに or (2) なにに here: お飲み物は何になさいますか。?
(1) www.youtube.com/watch?v=fU-hnuSM098 @0:20 provides evidence (NB: despite the possibly incorrect ローマ字 (roumaji) found there and in the &...
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2answers
185 views
Pronunciation of bird counters: 三羽 and 四羽
We have:
一羽 いちわ
二羽 にわ
but it seems the pronunciations of the counter for 3 and 4 are irregular. In each case, are both pronunciations acceptable, or we must use the former?
三羽 さんば、さんわ
四羽 よんば、よんわ
...
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3answers
478 views
Is chairo pronounced as both chai ro and cha iro?
The compound word ''chairo'' obviously comes from ''cha'' and ''iro'' so you would think that the ''a'' and ''i'' would be pronounced separately. But sometimes it sounds (to me) like they are ...
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2answers
158 views
Can I pronounce 十三日 as じゅうみっか?
I wonder if both prounciations of 十三日 are accepted?
じゅうさんにち
じゅうみっか
The reasons I am asking are these:
Windows IME seems to accept it
十四日 is pronouncecd as じゅうよっか, matching the pronunciation of 四日, ...
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2answers
78 views
How to pronounce basic vocabulary
I'm really new at this but I'm a big fan of the Japanese language. I found a list on Quizlet with the most used vocabulary such as to go, to see, etc to learn with their Kanji (I already learned Kana)....
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2answers
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pronunciation of ている
(The question was asked here but the answers didn't really address what I am about to ask.) One rule about long vowels is that the long vowel for え段 is written え段 + い. For instance けいじどうしゃ is ...
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143 views
Can I say na, nano, nanu as “seven” instead of nana?
On my kanji dictionary, below 七, there are several kunyomi among the common ones (nana, nanatsu), they are: na, nano, nanu; it's written that they are nouns themselves and it's the same for the other ...
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1answer
52 views
What is the meaning and pronunciation of 上 in the following sentence?
「新聞・雑誌などの編集上の一区分。」This sentence came from one of the definitions for the word 「欄（らん）」 in the "Super Daijirin" dictionary. I'm having trouble honing in on what specific meaning and ...
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1answer
72 views
How to pronounce “2” in はやぶさ2 (spacecraft / mission)
I'm a beginner. I was watching news about JAXA's はやぶさ2 mission and I think it is pronounced はやぶさ つ. Can someone please confirm that "2" is pronounced "つ" and explain why.
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1answer
212 views
How would you say 16 and 18 with the counter mai? [closed]
My textbook [Japanese from zero 1, George Trombley] gives 6 and 8 as roku mai and hachi mai.
But then gives 16 and 18 as じゅうろっまい juu rommai and じゅうはっまい juu hammai.
Is this correct ?
I am only learning ...
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1answer
117 views
Can a /n/ turn into /r̃/?
I think I heard a nasalized alveolar trill /r̃/ instead of alveolar nasal stop /n/ for the mora na in this video https://youtu.be/LIqnhSpXgtI?t=801 (13:26).
Am I correct?
(Whatever the phone is, is ...
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1answer
255 views
Understanding how pitch accent changes in words, especially 和語
These words all begin with 花（はな↓）, but they all have different pitch accent patterns.
花火 は↓なび (There is also 花火↓師)
花芽 はな↓め
花見 はなみ↓ (also, 花見↓月 vs 花見時 which is 平板)
Knowing that the pitch accent of each ...
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0answers
143 views
What is the reason for the odd vowel values of Japanese ココア?
I've done a bit of digging, and for the life of me, I cannot find any clear record or explanation for why Japanese ココア is pronounced the way it is.
Sources researched to date:
Lots of different ...
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1answer
120 views
一日二日 pronunciation
I was trying to determine the pitch accent for the phrase 一日二日 when it means "for a day or two" and realised I might not even have the right reading. I thought it would be いちにちににち, but then ...
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1answer
247 views
Were there any specifics rules that were used to convert Chinese vocabulary into Japanese? Are they still perceptible in Modern Chinese?
I know that when Chinese characters were incorporated into Japanese writing/vocabulary their pronunciation changed to be easier for Japanese people to pronounce, but were there any specific rules? ...
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2answers
173 views
how to know when to say “ha” or “wa” with は
it is going to be the end of week 3 in learning japanese and i've noticed how sometimes in sentences the hiragana は can sound like "wa" as well, why is this so? And also when do i know when ...
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114 views
i wanted to name myself a Japanese name,(first-last) but i wanted to know if it was okay to do so
Can someone please answer my question somehow? I would like to respect and honor the means of Japanese people/culture. I did not want to name myself a Japanese name without permission from the ...
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1answer
78 views
いつか日本に行きます。/ 五日日本に行きます。
Do these two sentences have the same sound? (The romanji are the same, but I am not sure about the stress).
いつか日本に行きます。(I will go to Japan someday.)
五日日本に行きます。(I'm going to Japan on the 5th.)
How ...
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1answer
152 views
I want to know the difference between ざじずぜぞ And だぢづでど
They all sound so similar to me, I want to know how I can tell the difference these since they make the same sound. (Please excuse me if I’m wrong I’m very new to Japanese and currently learning ...
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1answer
103 views
When is 笛 read as もにか？
I read that 笛 can be interpreted as もにか, I was wondering if that's only used for names and if that reading is common/would be understood? Or is it more of a "kirakira" name?
Thank you for ...
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71 views
Pronunciation of /g/ [duplicate]
I have heard the following sentence in an audio file of a dialogue in the Japanese language teaching book Genki (vol 1):
はがきは イギリスまでいくらですか？ (= How much is a postcard to the UK? )
There is a clear N ...
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1answer
70 views
How is this pronounced? 使い途
What is this 使い途? I get tsukaimichi on Google translate, but on a jisho app, there isn't a translation.
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0answers
123 views
Question on Japanese words that are similar to English ones [duplicate]
I know that Katakana is used mainly for words for that originated from the west. I was wondering why don't the Japanese pronounce those words just like the Western ones? For example there is the word ...
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1answer
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「弱者」vs「若者」Any rules to use On-reading or Kun-reading
I'm extremely confused about whether there are any rules to use On-reading or Kun-reading for kanji words.
A good example is 「弱者」vs「若者」. The former one is On-reading 「じゃくしゃ」, while the latter one is ...
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1answer
81 views
Are you supposed to not pronounce the “い” in います when reading out sentences or speaking?
New learner of two weeks. Noticed in my software course after hours of using it that the い seems to never pronounced or maybe I don't hear it? Is this a rule that when reading only "mas" ...
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2answers
314 views
Pronunciation of [d͡ʑ] vs [ʑ]
After hearing the pronunciation of the word ブラジン, I'm very confused about the sound for ジ, is it [d͡ʑ] or [ʑ] followed by [i]?
Also, I did some research and found this sentence on wikipedia.org:
...
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1answer
118 views
Loanwords not being pronounced in a normal moraic rhythm?
Here's a spectogram of a speaker's rendition of “プロトタイプ” from English “prototype”, collected from Forvo
It should be clear from this spectogram that the pu-mora is pronounced in half a mora; the mora-...
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1answer
52 views
橘花: きっか or きつか? When つ in compound words turns into っ?
I can't find any grammar rules about transformation of つ in っ in compound words.
For example 橘花 (WW2 japanese jet). 橘 is きつ and 花 is か. Pronunciation is not きつか but きっか (some people say きつか is ok too, ...
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108 views
How to understand the pronunciation as listed in Wiktionary
Wiktionary has two transcriptions:
私
(Tokyo)¹ わ[たし]{——}² [wàtáshí]³ (Heiban⁴ – [0]⁵)
IPA: [[ɰᵝa̠ta̠ɕi]]
What is the 1st one called and how is it read?
"Tokyo" stands for the Tokyo dialect
...
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1answer
166 views
Evolution of the pronunciation of the surname 中嶋/中島 from “Nakashima” to “Nakajima”
I was trying satiate my nostalgia by looking for theme songs of classic Japanese dramas on YouTube, when it suddenly occurred to me that 中島 can be pronounced in two ways:
中島 みゆき is Nakajima Miyuki
中島 ...
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0answers
77 views
Is 空きました read as both すきました and あきました? [duplicate]
I just learned one way to say ''I'm hungry'' in Japanese.
お腹が空きました
Can this be read as both すきました and あきました ?
If not then what is the difference here ?
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2answers
118 views
Pronunciation of 水/みず/mizu [duplicate]
Sometimes I hear ''me zoo'' and sometimes ''me dzoo''.
Are both in use and acceptable? Is there a standard?
Any further info on this is welcome and appreciated.
0
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1answer
81 views
For ら り る れ ろ, is the tongue blade ever in use? [duplicate]
I’m new to learning Japanese, and I am currently practicing on how to properly pronounce ら り る れ ろ. I have been told that you use your tongue tip to flick the roof of your mouth. I am able to produce ...
1
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1answer
209 views
Is there a difference between the English flap t and the Japanese R?
When I first learned the Japanese R, I thought it kinda sounded like an L, although not exactly. I was able to replicate that unique sound with a mindset that the Japanese R sounds like a “flicked L.”
...
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3answers
1k views
Japanese 'え' sound - [ɛ] or [e]?
OK, this has been driving me nuts. My friend and I have been learning Japanese off and on for many years, though neither of us are fluent. We got into an argument about the pronunciation of 'え'.
My ...
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2answers
72 views
How do you pronounce 電報船? Is is でんぽうふね、でんぽうぶね or でんぽうせん?
I recently started to read 'Made in Abyss' and unfortunately is doesn't contain any furigana, which sometimes makes it hard for me to understand. So I came across the word 電報船, which refers to a mail ...
2
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2answers
338 views
Correct pronunciation of voiceless bilabial fricative [ɸ]
I found that there are two different pronunciations for the [ɸ] phone. For example, in Japanese compare those two pronunciations for same word 冬 (for which I believe will has [ɸɯjɯ] as phonetic ...
