Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "開ける" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 開ける in Japanese?

開ける is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a.ke.ɾɯ/. It means “to open something (transitive).” a-ke-ru, three even beats with a flat "keh" in the middle and a tap at the end.

a-ke-ru, three even beats with a flat "keh" in the middle and a tap at the end.

開ける /a.ke.ɾɯ/

akeru

The melody starts high on a and steps down, while all three slots stay the same size. This transitive verb pairs with the intransitive 開く (aku), which has only two beats; keeping the length difference clear is part of keeping the grammar clear.

Listen: 開ける

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Sound it out

a A bright short open vowel opening the word cleanly, without a glottal stop in front of it.

ke The k comes with no burst of air, then a short front e. English speakers slide this toward "kay"; keep the tongue anchored so the vowel doesn't travel.

ru A single tap on the ridge — closer in mechanism to the d of American "rider" than to any English r — then the flat-lipped u.

Hear it in a sentence

窓を開けてください。

Mado o akete kudasai.

Please open the window.

Listen: 窓を開けてください。

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窓を開けてください uses the te-form 開けて and stacks it before ください. That gives you a-ke-te-ku-da-sa-i — seven consecutive morae with no long vowels, no geminates and no nasals, which sounds simple but is exactly where English speakers accelerate. Hold the tempo steady to the final i.

Where English speakers slip

"ah-KAY-roo" is the typical version: a stressed middle with an English diphthong, and a rounded rhotic ending. Level the beats, freeze the e, tap once, and unround the u. Because this verb and 開く differ mainly in length and ending, sloppy rhythm here can genuinely obscure which one you meant.