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.
560
questions
1
vote
0
answers
108
views
Is there any reason why I sometimes hear masU and desU?
I don't hear real life japanese that often, (I watch some podcasts and stuff) but when listening to anime, I hear ます and です said very often with the u being fully pronounced. I was wondering, is this ...
- 121
0
votes
1
answer
176
views
What is the pronunciation difference between ち and ぢ
While several people have asked about the pronunciation difference between じ and ぢ(there is none), the difference between ち and ぢ has not been talked about much. Yet, they seem the same to me, even ...
- 101
3
votes
1
answer
200
views
Is the japanese あ ever [ɐ] instead of [a]?
So, both those vowels are very similar, the only difference being that [a] is made when the mouth is fully open while [ɐ] is near-open.
Both those sounds exist in my language (Brazilian Portuguese), ...
-3
votes
2
answers
225
views
Pitch: Why for mom and dad is the 2nd syllable stressed but for aunt and uncle is the 1st syllable stressed?
I notice in the pitch / stress or whatever it's oKAA-san and oTOU-san but then it's Oba-san and Oji-san. Why?
I'm not so familiar with this LH HL thing but I think it's:
お母【LH】, お父【LH】
おじ【HL】, おば【HL】
- 605
1
vote
1
answer
116
views
ちゃんと帯付きだ！ meaning
This is translated as "in original cover"
Is this a common saying? and how is the kanji combo read?
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
103
views
Written lyrics different from the song - Listening issue
I just listened to the new Tani Yuuki song 燦々たるや. All the lyrics I found online say:
固く締め過ぎないように
緩んで解けてしまわぬように
心と心の奥の方に
そっと愛の錠をかける行為
However... what I hear is:
固く締め過ぎないように
緩んでを解けてしまるように
心と心の僕の方に
...
2
votes
2
answers
905
views
How is 店員 *actually* written and pronounced?
I'm confused about this word. It seems like it is written in kana as 「てんいん」 but when I hear it actually pronounced it sounds more like 「ていん」, as in 「ていんさん」.
- 123
-4
votes
2
answers
259
views
Bobby Fischer & Haruhi Suzumiya - Do you have to say consecutive vowels together?
Eg 'Koizumi'...and generally koi, ai, mai, etc
Bobby Fischer, mentally ill world chess champion and creator of 9LX, calls Junichiro 'Koizumi' mentally ill. The pronunciation of the 'こい' part is split ...
- 605
0
votes
0
answers
68
views
Is it possible to make a Japanese name from my Chinese name?
my name is 陳銘聲 in Chinese but i'm not sure how to convert that into a Japanese name. I know there are probably a lot of variations. But I'm just interested in the way Japanese names are created.
3
votes
1
answer
138
views
重用 - Reading Preference
Reading some 読解 Material I stumbled upon the word 重用. I read it as じゅうよう without much attention, only to notice that the furigana on top read "ちょうよう". Searching a bit on dictionaries I saw ...
- 704
2
votes
1
answer
506
views
When is 意外 ever read as 頭高?
I have always heard いがい{LHH}, いがいに{LHHH}, いがいと{LHHH}, but NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 seems to list いがい{HLL} too, and the same goes for Wiktionary. I wonder if 意外 is really pronounced that way. What about the ...
- 11.4k
0
votes
1
answer
112
views
pronunciation ん＋ [s]
For a few weeks I have been studying the pronunciation of ん and all allophones.
there are many allophones, I was able to learn almost all of them. however there is a case where I have problems
ん ＋ [s]
...
- 21
1
vote
1
answer
100
views
Why doesn't the て form of a verb connect to たい? [duplicate]
According to wikipedia, the て form is the result of sound changes that occurred when the 連用形 proceeded the particle て.
Historical
Contemporary
買いて
買って
打ちて
打って
知りて
知って
遊びて
遊んで
住みて
住んで
死にて
死んで
...
1
vote
1
answer
318
views
Is Duolingo's pronunciation decent or good?
This amateur video complains about Duolingo not having perfect Japanese pronunciation, and dates from 2021. The author of the video goes as far as to recommend that the audio and listening exercises ...
- 113
0
votes
2
answers
165
views
0
votes
1
answer
59
views
How to make sense of うand く's Onbin 音便?
From what I have learned, 音便 arose for the sake of easier pronunciation and they are changed from the ます form or 連用形 form.
However, I could not wrap my head around うand く. Why is that く is changed to ...
- 231
1
vote
0
answers
118
views
Pronunciation of words ending in -ou [duplicate]
If you have a –ou word ending, is it pronounced differently when it's in a verb (競う = きそう), and when it's part of a "long o" like 幻想 = げんそう ?
I think I remember reading that the first one ...
- 131
0
votes
1
answer
129
views
Is どこ住み ever pronounced どこずみ?
I have been saying どこ住み{ずみ} as in ～さん、どこずみですか？ because I seem to remember the first few times I heard the word used by other people it was pronounced as such. And I haven't had any issues making ...
- 11.4k
0
votes
1
answer
130
views
Difference in meaning for どういうこと
If you say どういうこと, as ど\ういうこと, when asking a question, I think it just asks for an explanation (possibly followed by a quick rise on that last mora).
But when someone already knows what is going on (...
- 658
0
votes
0
answers
100
views
まえ sounds like まい?
I've found some audio files (on Jisho for 前, for example) that pronounce まえ just like I'd expect まい to be pronounced. I wasn't expecting that. Is there some rule about this?
- 101
9
votes
4
answers
2k
views
Do ありがとう and ありかどう sound the same when you are whispering?
In my first language (Cantonese), we do not have voiced consonant sounds like Japanese. Therefore I have been struggling with the voiced and voiceless differences in Japanese. I wonder if that ...
- 231
1
vote
1
answer
153
views
why does "ru" turn into "n" at times?
Since the first time I saw this occurrence I've been wondering how Japanese people conjugate the "ru" into a n" (ex: 邪魔すんな or なにしてんの？)
- 11
4
votes
2
answers
269
views
When does a comma 、replace a particle?
When a particle is omitted in casual speech, the written representation (to my great surprise) adds a comma. Do these commas actually correspond to any change or pause in the intonation?
テニス、する？
今、何、...
- 1,047
0
votes
0
answers
102
views
"Hiatus avoidance" in Japanese?
Is the reading
腕【うで】の良【よ】い医者【いしゃ】
or
腕【うで】の良【い】い医者【いしゃ】?
どんなに腕【うで】の良【よ】い医者【いしゃ】に早【はや】くかかったとしても間【ま】に合【あ】わない
No matter how fast you go to a good doctor, you won't make it.
https://www.fnn.jp/articles/-/...
- 1,720
1
vote
2
answers
113
views
I've seen 雄臭い used in some articles and posts but couldn't find the hiragana pronunciation, does anyone what it is?
Based on the kanji and what I gathered I'm assuming it means "smells manly" or "reeks of a man". The thing is I couldn't find any hiragana reading on the kanji and wanted to know ...
- 170
1
vote
1
answer
129
views
When is 大【おお】 and when is 大【だい】?
There was already a discussion here, with examples
Reading of prefix 大
but what about for 大イベント?
I was hoping one could generalize that 大+katakana=【だい】, but at least one word seems to contradict that ...
- 1,720
2
votes
1
answer
306
views
How do you pronounce the name 直
In the given audio https://voca.ro/135zSkjYsgDP the girl is saying もう直ちゃん言い方 to 直ちゃん. It is about the 05:49 mark from 聲の形 if you watch it from the Bluray.
If I understand correctly the ちゃん shouldnt ...
- 658
0
votes
2
answers
324
views
「来夏」Can I use this for a boy's name?
Is it acceptable to use「来夏」as a boy's name? I am currently making a character and am still choosing a name. Can this name be read as らいが? If so, would it make this name more masculine?
0
votes
1
answer
104
views
「黄米来夏」 Can this be considered a name?
I am attempting to make a name for a character and decided on these 4 kanji. My question is, can this be considered a name in Japanese, if so, how would it be pronounced?
4
votes
1
answer
206
views
Pronunciation of 世論
It seems that 世論 can be pronounced as both よろん and せろん. Are the meanings identical? Is one pronunciation more common than the other?
- 28.5k
6
votes
1
answer
300
views
Reading of prefix 大
While reading, I'm finding difficult to understand how to read an initial 大, since it can be read だい (大好物), たい (大使館), おお (大蔵省).
When I can find the word on a dictionary it's not a big problem, I can ...
- 3,329
0
votes
1
answer
114
views
は is pronounced differently in two words
In こんにちは(hello), it is pronounced like 'wa'. But in おはよう(good morning) its pronounced like 'ha'. Can someone explain the catch here(Please keep in mind that I'm an absolute beginner)?
- 103
0
votes
1
answer
201
views
Are there any guiding principles for when to use pauses in longer form sentences?
I was watching this video about a few pointers on achieving more natural Japanese speaking, when it approached how to quick pauses in long sentences, something I've NEVER seen even mentioned in any ...
- 1,526
2
votes
1
answer
125
views
「ってた」 pronunciation
I don't know if it's just me but this has been bothering me for a while. I sometimes hear ってた pronounced in a way similar to 「っつう」 or 「っつた」 in fast speech. Do some people really pronounce it that way ...
- 11.4k
1
vote
0
answers
98
views
is the name Vincent in Japanese ヴィンセント or ビンセント? [duplicate]
I've seen different answers and I am relatively new to learning Japanese, I never knew they had V characters, and would spelling vincent like ヴィンセント change the pronunciation or would it still be with ...
- 11
1
vote
1
answer
118
views
Meaning, origin and "type" of 多き
I have come across 多き being used in combinations such as
恵み多き宝 or 恵み多き地.
I believe the correct reading is おおき. However, I was not able to find an explanation to the differences, e.g. to 多{おお}い.
Does ...
- 857
0
votes
2
answers
189
views
Don't 不吉, 富士通 sound alike? [closed]
Isn't it an issue that 不吉, 富士通 sound alike? At least for non-Japanese speakers. For Western companies, they would avoid any even slight associations with something negative.
- 321
2
votes
1
answer
273
views
Why is 学校 pronounced as "gakkou" and not "gakukou"
There's only one onyomi reading for kanji 学 and its "gaku", where did "gatsu" come from?
- 35
2
votes
1
answer
237
views
Pronunciation of 部屋
This is a question I had for some time: can 部屋 be pronounced as "hea", or it's always pronounced as "heya", with an audible YA sound?
I'm asking this because more often than not I ...
- 3,329
0
votes
1
answer
105
views
Are there different ways to pronounce お column (or related sounds) like こ, そ, の, etc?
I have noticed two different pronunciations for お column and related sounds (お, の, を）.
For the first one, お is pronounced like aw as in always, の is like no as in British pronunciation of not (nawt).
...
- 123
2
votes
1
answer
194
views
What is the difference in sound between 'あん' and 'えん'?
かん vs けん, だん vs でん for example. Sometimes, they sound the same to my ears. How to differentiate them? Or are they pronounced the same?
- 123
1
vote
1
answer
1k
views
How do I read pitch accent notation (alternatively, why does my pitch notation in yomichan and OJAD disagree)?
I've installed this Anki plugin that adds pitch accent info. The author has helpfully provided some guidelines about the notation:
Overline: Indicates "High" pitch
Downfall arrow: usually ...
- 189
-1
votes
1
answer
469
views
Pronouncing Karate as kara-te
Karate is pronounced "kara te" and it can be written 空手 (empty hand) or 唐手 (Chinese hand). 手 is the word for hand and is pronounced "te". Now to the tricky part: 空 means sky/...
2
votes
1
answer
601
views
Pronunciation of パンツ
In the latest chapter (100作品目) of この美術部には問題がある！ there’s a wordplay episode based on different meanings of パンツ. One character uses it in the sense of pants (trousers) but another understands it as ...
- 6,553
3
votes
2
answers
674
views
Why is 木の下 pronounced このした instead of きのした?
Does this pronunciation follow a rule of some sort?
I couldn't find any answers online about this example specifically.
- 277
1
vote
1
answer
179
views
How to Pronounce a Kanji When Just Reading it by Itself
I'll elaborate the title with a scenario. If I was, say, in a scenario where I was talking about my favorite kanji, and said "Oh, my favorite kanji is 悪" how do I pronounce 悪 in that ...
- 41
0
votes
1
answer
121
views
1
vote
1
answer
213
views
働きづめ or 働きずめ? Where does that suffix come from?
While playing a game, one of the characters said (the text is in English and the voice is in Japanese):
君はずっと働きずめだったから、今日はもう寝な。
My conjecture is that the correct written form is 働きずめ, but is that ...
2
votes
1
answer
854
views
"Good day" as "良い一日": Yoi ichi-nichi vs Yoi tsuitachi?
Do Japanese say "Good day" as the conventional way of their greetings (?):
良い一日。(?)
Furthermore, it seems that:
Google pronounced this as
Yoi ichi-nichi.
But the Google translator shows:...
- 189
2
votes
1
answer
294
views
Is the pronunciation of す /sɨ/ or /sɯ/?
The wiki says on 2 separate occasions that it should be /sɨ/, see the pages for Japanese phonology and Gojyuuon.
However, when the endings such as です・ます are pronounced without the reduction of that ...
- 155