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Pronunciation practice

Practice Japanese (Japan) pronunciation.

Every word you say is scored against the native Japanese (Japan) model. Free to use.

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What makes Japanese pronunciation hard

Japanese has only five vowels and few difficult consonants. What trips learners up is length: every beat takes the same time, and long vowels and double consonants count as extra beats that change the word.

  • Long vowels

    A long vowel is held for two beats. おばさん obasan is an aunt; おばあさん obāsan is a grandmother.

    おばさん, おばあさん, ビル, ビール

  • Double consonants

    The small tsu is a silent beat before the next consonant. きて kite means “come”; きって kitte is a stamp.

    きて, きって, さか, さっか

  • The R sound

    A light flap of the tongue tip, somewhere between English R, L and D. Do not curl the tongue back.

    ラーメン, ありがとう, りんご

Sentences to try

From the beginner course. Tap Practice on any of them to say it and see every word colored by accuracy.

  1. 美咲が廊下で新しい隣人を見かけました。 Practice
  2. 彼女は笑顔で、「こんにちは、12号室の美咲です」と言いました。 Practice
  3. 隣人は自分の名前が太郎だと言いました。 Practice
  4. 美咲は彼が引っ越しの箱を運ぶのに手伝いが必要か聞きました。 Practice
  5. 太郎は彼女に感謝して、もうすぐ終わると言いました。 Practice
  6. 二人は明日の午後、共有庭でコーヒーを飲むことに同意しました。 Practice
  7. ケンは仕事前に小さなカフェに立ち寄りました。 Practice
  8. 彼はチーズサンドイッチと紅茶をください、と頼みました。 Practice

Sounds to work on in Japanese

Step-by-step guides to the sounds learners find hardest, each with sentences you can practice right away.

Japanese long vowels and っ

obasan, obāsan, kite, kitte

Japanese R

ra, ri, ru, re, ro

All sound guides → Japanese tongue twisters →

Courses in Japanese

3 courses by level, from beginner to advanced, plus 12 short courses by topic: news, stories, work, culture, daily life. 39 lessons and 249 sentences in all.

  • Beginner 日常会話の基礎 5 lessons
  • Intermediate 日常会話の実践 5 lessons
  • Advanced 思考、物語、討論 5 lessons
Browse courses →
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