Alrighty, so one of the things lots of new UTAU creators struggle with is their pronunciation. So I'm here to lend a helping hand!
Hopefully this guide will get you pronouncing Japanese like a pro in no time.
Let's get started, shall we?
First: Vowels
OK, so the vowels are actually rather simple when you think about them, and chances are they will be the least of the issues you run in to.
A/あ: This one is very simple. Ah. Aaaaah. Like the "a" in Blah or the "o" in Pot or Hot.
I/い: Another simple one! Eee. Like the "e"s in Screech or Keep.
U/う: Oo. Like the "o"s in Zoo or Poo, or the "ue" in True.
E/え: Eh would be the best way to pronounce this. Like the "e" in Pet or Jet. Try to avoid pronouncing it like in Play or Clay, as that would be more of an "ei/えい" sound.
O/お: Oh. Like in Crow, just avoid saying the "w" at the end. All Japanese vowels are pure and are a single sound, rather than English Us and Os which sometimes sound like they have a "w" at the end.
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That's it for vowels! Next, let's move on to consonants! Some of them may prove to be a bit tricky at first, but just remember to keep trying and you'll get it eventually!
K: Pronounced the same as the English K sound.
S: Pronounced the same as the English S sound.
T: Pronounced almost the same as the English T sound, the only difference is that the Japanese T isn't aspirated. The easiest way to explain this is to try pronouncing "t" without the little puff of air at the beginning.
N: Pronounced the same as the English N sound.
H: Pronounced the same as the English H sound.
M: Pronounced the same as the English M sound.
Y: Pronounced the same as the English Y sound (like in "Yodel", not like in "Candy").
R: This is probably the hardest part of Japanese for native English speakers to pronounce, hands down. I don't really know how to explain it, but Tofugu made an awesome tutorial on it which you can watch here- [link] . And if you just can't seem to manage the actual R sound, I would just recommend pronouncing it as an English L. But whatever you do, do NOT record a Japanese UTAU voicebank with English Rs.
W: Pronounced the same as the English W sound. Only exception is "wo" which is sometimes pronounced simply as "o", but if you pronounce it as "wo" that's OK too.
G: Pronounced the same as the English G sound.
Z: Pronounced the same as the English Z sound, but sometimes pronounced with a slight "d" in the beginning. It's hard to explain so I'd just say pronounce it as an English Z unless you figure out how to pronounce the "dz" thing on your own.
"D": Pronounced the same as the English D sound.
B: Pronounced the same as the English B sound.
P: Pronounced the same as the English P sound.
Sh and Ch: Pronounced the same as English Sh and Ch sounds, like in "Shot" or "Champion". Please note that Ch should not be pronounced as it is in words like "Mocha".
Ts: The Ts combination is sometimes hard to pronounce at first, but just say it like in the words "Cats" or "Bats".
Consonant + Y combinations: One of the other common mispronunciations would be in sounds like "Kya" or "Ryo". People will pronounce "Kya" as "Kia" and those are two totally different things. Just practice saying "Kia" faster and faster and eventually it will become "Kya", same goes for other sounds like Mya and Gyu.
Well, that's it for this tutorial for now! I will update this tutorial as it is needed, and good luck!
Hopefully this guide will get you pronouncing Japanese like a pro in no time.
Let's get started, shall we?
First: Vowels
OK, so the vowels are actually rather simple when you think about them, and chances are they will be the least of the issues you run in to.
A/あ: This one is very simple. Ah. Aaaaah. Like the "a" in Blah or the "o" in Pot or Hot.
I/い: Another simple one! Eee. Like the "e"s in Screech or Keep.
U/う: Oo. Like the "o"s in Zoo or Poo, or the "ue" in True.
E/え: Eh would be the best way to pronounce this. Like the "e" in Pet or Jet. Try to avoid pronouncing it like in Play or Clay, as that would be more of an "ei/えい" sound.
O/お: Oh. Like in Crow, just avoid saying the "w" at the end. All Japanese vowels are pure and are a single sound, rather than English Us and Os which sometimes sound like they have a "w" at the end.
----
That's it for vowels! Next, let's move on to consonants! Some of them may prove to be a bit tricky at first, but just remember to keep trying and you'll get it eventually!
K: Pronounced the same as the English K sound.
S: Pronounced the same as the English S sound.
T: Pronounced almost the same as the English T sound, the only difference is that the Japanese T isn't aspirated. The easiest way to explain this is to try pronouncing "t" without the little puff of air at the beginning.
N: Pronounced the same as the English N sound.
H: Pronounced the same as the English H sound.
M: Pronounced the same as the English M sound.
Y: Pronounced the same as the English Y sound (like in "Yodel", not like in "Candy").
R: This is probably the hardest part of Japanese for native English speakers to pronounce, hands down. I don't really know how to explain it, but Tofugu made an awesome tutorial on it which you can watch here- [link] . And if you just can't seem to manage the actual R sound, I would just recommend pronouncing it as an English L. But whatever you do, do NOT record a Japanese UTAU voicebank with English Rs.
W: Pronounced the same as the English W sound. Only exception is "wo" which is sometimes pronounced simply as "o", but if you pronounce it as "wo" that's OK too.
G: Pronounced the same as the English G sound.
Z: Pronounced the same as the English Z sound, but sometimes pronounced with a slight "d" in the beginning. It's hard to explain so I'd just say pronounce it as an English Z unless you figure out how to pronounce the "dz" thing on your own.
"D": Pronounced the same as the English D sound.
B: Pronounced the same as the English B sound.
P: Pronounced the same as the English P sound.
Sh and Ch: Pronounced the same as English Sh and Ch sounds, like in "Shot" or "Champion". Please note that Ch should not be pronounced as it is in words like "Mocha".
Ts: The Ts combination is sometimes hard to pronounce at first, but just say it like in the words "Cats" or "Bats".
Consonant + Y combinations: One of the other common mispronunciations would be in sounds like "Kya" or "Ryo". People will pronounce "Kya" as "Kia" and those are two totally different things. Just practice saying "Kia" faster and faster and eventually it will become "Kya", same goes for other sounds like Mya and Gyu.
Well, that's it for this tutorial for now! I will update this tutorial as it is needed, and good luck!
