Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "歩く" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 歩く in Japanese?

歩く is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a.ɾɯ.kɯ̥/. It means “to walk.” a-ru-ku, three beats — the middle u is voiced, the final one usually isn't.

a-ru-ku, three beats — the middle u is voiced, the final one usually isn't.

歩く /a.ɾɯ.kɯ̥/

aruku

Three identical slots, unaccented, so the pitch rises off the first and holds level. The two u's are instructive: they're the same vowel, but one is fully voiced and the other is whispered, purely because of what surrounds them. The beats stay identical in length regardless.

Listen: 歩く

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Sound it out

a A short bright open vowel starting the word with no glottal catch before it.

ru The tongue tip strikes the ridge once and releases. Because a voiced vowel follows and a vowel precedes, this mora is fully voiced and quite audible.

ku A softly released k, then an unrounded u that goes voiceless at the end of the word — so the verb finishes on breath rather than on a vowel.

Hear it in a sentence

駅まで歩きます。

Eki made arukimasu.

I walk to the station.

Listen: 駅まで歩きます。

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

駅まで歩きます pairs the verb with 駅 (e-ki), where the final i sits before the m of まで and keeps its voicing. In 歩きます the ki between the r and the m also stays voiced — so this particular sentence, unusually, leaves most of its high vowels intact. Compare it with 聞きます, where they don't survive.

Where English speakers slip

"ah-ROO-koo" is the standard error: a stressed middle beat, an English r, and two rounded u's. Tap once instead of curling the tongue, spread the lips slightly for both u vowels, and let the final one drop out of voice entirely. If your word ends with a clear "koo," it's too heavy.