Guide To Improve And Master Your Japanese Pronunciation
Believe it or not, Japanese is actually quite easy to learn how to pronounce.
Despite having an unusual structure and grammar compared to European languages, the sounds are one of the simplest aspects of the language to master.
One key thing to remember is that basic Japanese vowels have the same, consistent sound all the time.
For example:
The “a” sound in the word “aha” has the same pronunciation as in the word “father” and “i” has the same pronunciation as in “tree”.
Why improve your Japanese pronunciation?
You can learn Japanese with poor pronunciation, but it's far better to work on correct pronunciation.
The main reasons for getting it right:
- You sound more natural.
- People won't be confused and interpret you incorrectly.
- It's more satisfying. :smile:
Japanese is a very popular language, in part because of how easy it is to pronounce. There are several aspects of pronunciation to cover, which you can find links to below.
Learn how to pronounce Japanese vowels
Like English, Japanese only has five basic vowels (a, e, i, o, and u) which are pure and short.
Although they're very similar to what we see in English or other European languages, there are some particularities in the Japanese pronunciation. There are some important phonetic rules you need to understand.
Learn how to pronounce Japanese consonants
Visit this link to learn about Japanese consonants.
Japanese consonants are also quite similar to those in English with a handful of exceptions. One thing you need to look out for are Japanese double consonants.
Learn how to pronounce Japanese particles
Japanese speakers use what's called a “particle” after noun phrases, and there are quite a few of them that you need to learn. The link above will teach you how to use and pronounce Japanese particles correctly.
Learn how to improve your Japanese accent and intonation
Getting intonation and accent down means you'll sound more natural when you speak Japanese.
Visit the link above to learn how to improve your accent in Japanese.
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