Japanese Pronunciation - Master Japanese Sounds

What you'll learn

• The five pure Japanese vowel sounds and their English approximations
• Each consonant row: K, S, T, N, H, M, Y, R, and W
• Why し is shi, ち is chi, つ is tsu, and ふ is fu
• How the vowel u is often devoiced or whispered
• The syllabic ん and the object-marking particle を
• A simple example word for every sound, with native-speaker audio

Preview the flashcards

A sample of the 46 cards in this set — each with pronunciation and English meaning.

あ/ a /

The 'a' sound, like 'a' in father

い/ i /

The 'i' sound, like 'ee' in see, kept short

う/ u /

The 'u' sound, like 'oo' in food but with unrounded lips

え/ e /

The 'e' sound, like 'e' in pet

お/ o /

The 'o' sound, like 'o' in more

か/ ka /

The 'ka' sound, like 'ca' in car

き/ ki /

The 'ki' sound, like the word 'key'

く/ ku /

The 'ku' sound, like 'coo'

け/ ke /

The 'ke' sound, like 'ke' in kept

こ/ ko /

The 'ko' sound, like 'co' in coat

さ/ sa /

The 'sa' sound, like 'sa' in salsa

し/ shi /

The 'shi' sound, like 'she' — note: it is shi, not si

す/ su /

The 'su' sound, like 'soo'; the u is often devoiced or whispered

せ/ se /

The 'se' sound, like 'se' in set

そ/ so /

The 'so' sound, like 'so' in sew

+ 31 more cards with full native audio in the complete set.