How to Pronounce Romaji Japanese

Created by Minako134

 

Part Two

 

You may have noticed something about the Japanese alphabet; it doesn’t have r, th, b, j, d, p, g, z, f, or parts of y and w! I’ll address each of these separately in this section. Most of the time, it has to do with…well, that’s just the way it is.

 

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R

The ‘R’ in Japanese is VERY different from an ‘R’ in English. In fact, I and my Japanese teacher believe that the Japanese pronounce it closer to ‘L’; that’s why I made a ‘L’ row instead of an ‘R’ row in the table on the first section. If you speak like you’re saying ‘L’, Japanese citizens will have an easier time understanding you. English ‘R’s are too long and ‘rrrrr’-ish. From now on, in romaji, ‘L’ is the same as ‘R’, but you should really say ‘L’.

 

“Sakura”   sounds better if you pronounce the ‘r’ like an ‘l’:  “Sa - ku - la”

 

“Arigatou”   It annoys me SO much when people say “Arrrigatow!” It should be said like this: “A - Li - Ga - Toh - Oh”

 

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Th

This sound has a simple rule; Japanese have more trouble pronouncing this sound than any other. ^_^;; Most often, they say “J” or “Z” instead (which is kinda funny to hear in J-pop lyrics…”Zank you!!!”

 

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B

Here’s where things get interesting; sounds like b, p, d, z, and g are made by adding extra marks to certain characters in the hiragana alphabet. Luckily for you, you’re not learning hiragana, you’re learning Romaji! When you see a ‘B’, it can also be treated like a ‘V’, but they both end up sounding like ‘B’.

 

“Valgav” is pronounced “Bah - loo - gah - voo”

 

“Venus” is pronounced “Bee - nah - soo”

 

This sound can be written as ‘B’ or ‘V’, but it will most likely be a ‘B’.

 

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J

‘J’ is pretty simple; it sounds just like it looks. If someone puts a ‘y’ after it, just ignore it; they don’t know how to read hiragana. I’d explain, but I don’t want to scare you off with all that stuff…

 

“Romaji”   is pronounced “Loh - Mah - Jee”

 

“Jou”   is pronounced “Joh - Oh”

 

“Jyou” is ALSO pronounced “Joh - Oh”

 

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D

‘D’ is also very simple, and is pronounced how it looks.

 

“Doko”   is pronounced “Doh - koh”

 

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P

Yet another easy one! I’m spoiling you before we get to the hard stuff…^_^

 

“Piyo”   is pronounced “Pee - yoh”

 

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G

The important thing to remember about ‘g’ is that is never EVER sounds like ‘j’. The ‘g’ is hard, like in “garage” and “alligator”. An interesting tidbit is that even though most young people in Japan pronounce it like we do, old people who lived a while ago pronounce it like ‘ng’ (when it’s not at the beginning of the word). My maternal grandmother (born and raised in Japan) insists that I use ‘ng’ instead of ‘g’, because it’s “traditional beautiful Japanese”. ^_^

 

“Arigatou”   is pronounced “Ah - Lee - Gah - Toh”  OR  “Ah - Lee - Ngah - Toh” ( run all together, it’s “Alingatou”)

 

“Gomen”   is ONLY pronounced “Goh - Meh - N” (we can’t use ‘ng’ since it’s at the beginning of the word)

 

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Z

Another easy one! Always ‘z’.

 

“Zannen”   is pronounced “Zah - N - Ne - N”

 

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Why are parts or Y and W left out of the alphabet?

Simply because they are never used in everyday Japanese conversation. If you ever hear something like “Yeh” or “Wee”, that person wasn’t originally born in Japan. It’s kind of silly, but nonetheless, that’s how it is.

 

Why does ‘Wo’ have parenthesis around it?

If this syllable is ever written, it isn’t pronounced “Woh”; it’s “Oh”. If you see “wo” in j-pop lyrics somewhere, that person needs to learn more about hiragana.