Pronunciation
Japanese pronunciation of the five vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) is very strict. To be able to speak Japanese correctly, you must know how to pronounce vowels as well as consanants.
Each vowel in Japanese has only one sound. When put together, they have no effect on each other (like in English, "oo" makes a different sound than "o".). Here are the five basic rules for pronouncing vowels:
- a is pronounced like the a in "father".
- e is pronounced like the e in "get".
- i is pronounced like the ee in "week".
- o is pronounced like the oa in "float".
- u is pronounced like the oo in "food".
Consonants
Most consonants in Japanese are spoken the same as they are in English. However, there are a few exceptions:
- In English, f is pronounced by blowing air between your upper teeth and lower lips. In Japanese however, f is pronounced by blowing air out of both lips, as if you were wistling.
- In Japanese, s is always hissed, never pronounced like z is. "sound" is an example of how the s is pronounced in Japanese, while "his" is not.
- In Japanese g is never pronounced the same way j is. It is pronounced like the g in "grammar" but never like the g's in "Georgia".
- The r in Japanese is pronounced slightly different than the English r. In Japanese, the r is made by lightly touching the tip of your toungue to the ridge right behind your upper teeth.