Help:IPA/Japanese

Download this page on PDF...

The charts below show the way in which the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) represents Japanese language and Okinawan pronunciations in Wikipedia articles.

See Japanese phonology for a more thorough discussion of the sounds of Japanese.

Examples in the charts are Japanese words transliterated according to the Hepburn romanization system.

Consonants
IPAHiragana exampleTransliterationEnglish approximation
bばしょ, かびんbasho, kabinbug
bʲびょうきbyōkibeauty
çひと, ひょうhito, hyōhue
ɕした, いっしょうshita, isshō sheep
dどうも, どうどうdōmo, dōdōdoctor
dz[1]ずっと, ぜんぜん, キッズzutto, zenzen, kizzu[2]cards
z[1]あざ, つづくaza, tsuzukuzoo
dʑ[1]じぶん, じょじょ, エッジjibun, jojo, ejji[2]jeep
ʑ[1]みじかい, じょじょmijikai, jojovision
ɸふじfujiroughly like foot
ɡ[3]がっこう, ごご, ぎんこうgakkō, gogo, ginkōgoat
ɡʲ[3]きぎょうkigyōargue
hほん, ははhon, hahahat
jやくしゃ, ゆゆしいyakusha, yuyushiiyacht
kくる, はっきkuru, hakkiskate
kʲきょうかい, けっきょくkyōkai, kekkyokuskew
mみかん, せんぱい, もんもんmikan, senpai, monmonmuch
mʲみゃくmyakumute
nなっとう, かんたんnattō , kantannot
ɲにわ, こんにゃく, きんちょうniwa, konnyaku, kinchōcanyon
ŋりんご, なんきょくringo, nankyokupink
ɴにほんnihonroughly like long
pパン, たんぽぽpan, tampopospan
pʲはっぴょうhappyōspew
ɾろく, そらroku, soraAmerican better
ɾʲりょうりryōriAmerican party
sする, さっそうsuru, sassōsoup
tたべる, とってtaberu, tottestop
tsつなみ, いっついtsunami, ittsui[2]cats
tɕちかい, けっちゃくchikai, ketchaku[2]itchy
ɰ[4]わさびwasabiroughly like was
ɰ̃[5]ふんいき, でんわ, あんしんfun'iki, denwa, anshinsin
ʔあつっ！atsu'!uh-oh (glottal stop)
Vowels
IPAHiragana exampleTransliterationEnglish approximation
aあるarufather
eえきekibet
iいるirumeet
i̥[6]したshitawhispered meet
oおにonistory
ɯ[7]うなぎunagiroughly like food
ɯ̥[7][6]すきやきsukiyakiroughly like whispered food
Suprasegmentals
IPADescriptionJapanese exampleEnglish approximation
ːLong vowelhyōmei, ojiisanre-equalize
ꜜPitch drop[8][kaꜜki] (‎"oyster"), [kakiꜜ] (‎"fence")i/ (merry), iː/ (Marie)
.Syllabificationnin'i [ɲiɰ̃.i]react t/
  • notes

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d In dialects such as the Tokyo dialect, the voiced fricatives [z, ʑ] are generally pronounced as affricates [dz, dʑ] in word-initial positions and after the moraic nasal /N/ (pronounced [n] before [dz] and [ɲ] before [dʑ]) or the sokuon /Q/ (spelled ッ, only in loanwords). Actual realizations of these sounds vary among speakers (see Yotsugana).
  2. ^ a b c d When an affricate consonant is geminated, only the closure component of it is repeated: [kiddzɯ], [eddʑi], [ittsɯi], [kettɕakɯ].
  3. ^ a b A declining number of speakers pronounce word-medial /ɡ/ as [ŋ], but /ɡ/ is always represented by [ɡ] in this system.
  4. ^ [ɰ], romanized w, is the consonant equivalent of the vowel [ɯ], which is pronounced with varying degrees of rounding, depending on dialect.
  5. ^ The syllable-final n (moraic nasal) is pronounced as some kind of nasalized vowel before a vowel, semivowel ([j, ɰ]) or fricative ([ɸ, s, ɕ, ç, h]). [ɰ̃] is a conventional notation undefined for the exact place of articulation.
  6. ^ a b In many dialects including the Tokyo dialect, close vowels [i] and [ɯ] become voiceless (marked by a ring under the symbol) when surrounded by voiceless consonants and not followed by a pitch drop.
  7. ^ a b [ɯ], romanized u, exhibits varying degrees of rounding depending on dialect. In the Tokyo dialect, it is either unrounded or compressed ([ɯᵝ]), meaning the sides of the lips are held together without horizontal protrusion, unlike protruded [u].
  8. ^ A pitch drop may occur only once per word and does not occur in all words. The mora before a pitch drop has a high pitch. When it occurs at the end of a word, the following grammatical particle has a low pitch.
Other Languages
azərbaycanca: Yapon dili üçün BFƏ
বাংলা: উইকিপিডিয়া:বাংলা ভাষায় জাপানি শব্দের প্রতিবর্ণীকরণ
Cymraeg: Wicipedia:IPA ar gyfer y Japaneg
हिन्दी: विकिपीडिया:IPA for Japanese
Bahasa Indonesia: Bantuan:IPA untuk bahasa Jepang
română: Wikipedia:AFI pentru limba japoneză
русский: Таблица МФА для японского языка
Tagalog: Wikipedia:IPA para sa Hapones
українська: Вікіпедія:МФА для японської мови
اردو: معاونت:بین الاقوامی اصواتی ابجدیہ برائے جاپانی
中文: Help:日語國際音標