Japanese Pronunciation Guide for Beginners (with Audio)

The short answer

Japanese has only five vowels: a, i, u, e, o. Each is always pronounced the same way.
Every syllable gets roughly equal time. Japanese has a steady, even rhythm.
Long vowels and the small っ change meaning, so pay attention to length.
The Japanese r is a light tap of the tongue, between English r, l and d.
Japanese uses pitch accent (high and low tones), not stress. Beginners can learn it gradually.

The five vowels

English has around a dozen vowel sounds, and the same letter can be pronounced in many ways. Japanese has five, and each one never changes. Learn these and you can pronounce any Japanese word correctly. Tap to listen:

あa
like the a in “father”Short and open, never like the a in “cat”.
いi
like the ee in “meet”, but short
うu
like the oo in “food”, but shortLips stay relaxed, not rounded.
えe
like the e in “bed”
おo
like the o in “more”, but short

Rhythm: every beat counts

Japanese is timed by morae, small beats of roughly equal length. Each kana character is one beat. さ・く・ら (sa-ku-ra, cherry blossom) has three beats, each the same length. Even ん and the small っ take up a full beat of their own.

This is why にっぽん (Nippon) has four beats: ni-p-po-n. Clap along while you say it and you’ll feel the rhythm.

Long vowels

A long vowel lasts two beats instead of one, and it can completely change a word’s meaning. In hiragana, it is written by adding another vowel; in romaji, often with a line on top (ā, ū, ō).

おばさんobasan
aunt
おばあさんobāsan
grandmother
ゆきyuki
snow
ゆうきyūki
courage
とりtori
bird
とおりtōri
street

The small っ (double consonants)

A small っ before a consonant creates a tiny pause, one full beat of silence, and the following consonant is held a little. Think of the gap in the middle of “hot tea”.

きてkite
come (please)
きってkitte
stamp
さかsaka
slope
さっかsakka
writer

Consonants that need attention

Most Japanese consonants are close to English. These are the ones worth practising:

The Japanese r

The r in ら, り, る, れ, ろ is a single quick tap of the tongue behind the upper teeth. It sounds a bit like the tt in American “better” or the d in “ladder”. Don’t roll it and don’t use the English r.

ありがとうarigatō
thank you
くるまkuruma
car

ふ (fu)

ふ is made by blowing air between your lips, not with your teeth like an English f. It’s softer, almost like blowing out a candle.

つ (tsu)

The ts sound from “cats”, but at the start of a syllable. Practise with つなみ (tsunami).

ん (n)

ん adapts to the sound that follows: it sounds like m before b, p and m (さんぽ, sanpo, a walk), and more like ng before k and g (ぎんこう, ginkō, bank). You don’t need to think about it much. It happens naturally when you speak smoothly.

Silent vowels

In natural speech, i and u often become whispered or almost silent between or after certain consonants, especially k, s, t, h and p. The most famous examples:

ですdesu → “dess”
is / am / are (polite)
すきsuki → “ski”
like
ましたmashita → “mash-ta”
past tense ending (polite)

Pronouncing the vowel fully isn’t wrong, but softening it makes you sound much more natural.

Pitch accent

English uses stress: some syllables are louder and longer. Japanese instead uses pitch: syllables are high or low. The pattern can distinguish words that are otherwise identical. In standard Tokyo Japanese:

Word	Pitch	Meaning
あめ (雨)	HIGH-low	rain
あめ (飴)	low-HIGH	candy
はし (箸)	HIGH-low	chopsticks
はし (橋)	low-HIGH	bridge

Don’t panic. Context almost always makes the meaning clear, and people will understand you even if your pitch isn’t perfect. The best approach is to copy the melody of native audio from the start, rather than memorising rules.

How to practise

Listen first, then repeat. Play a word, pause, say it out loud, compare.
Shadowing. Speak along with a recording a split second behind it, copying rhythm and melody.
Record yourself. It feels strange, but it’s the fastest way to hear what you actually sound like.
Learn with kana, not romaji. Romaji tricks your brain into English pronunciation.

Start with the sounds of the hiragana chart. Every character there has audio.

Frequently asked questions

Is Japanese pronunciation hard?

No, it is one of the easier parts of Japanese for English speakers. There are only five vowel sounds, spelling in kana is very consistent and most consonants exist in English. The main things to practise are vowel length, the small っ and the Japanese r.

Does Japanese have tones?

Japanese has pitch accent rather than tones like Chinese. Syllables are high or low, and the pattern can distinguish some words, such as あめ meaning rain or candy. Context usually makes the meaning clear.

Why does です sound like dess?

In natural Japanese the vowels i and u are often devoiced, meaning whispered or nearly silent, after certain consonants. That is why です sounds like dess and すき like ski.

How do you pronounce the Japanese r?

It is a quick tap of the tongue against the ridge behind the upper front teeth, similar to the tt in the American pronunciation of better. It is neither a rolled r nor an English r.