Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "遊ぶ" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 遊ぶ in Japanese?

遊ぶ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a.so.bɯ/. It means “to play.” a-so-bu, three even beats ending on a flat-lipped u.

a-so-bu, three even beats ending on a flat-lipped u.

遊ぶ /a.so.bɯ/

asobu

Tap three times; the peak lands on the middle tap. This word has three different vowels and no long sounds, which makes it an unforgiving test of even rhythm — if any one beat stands out, it will be obvious to a native ear.

Listen: 遊ぶ

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Sound it out

a The jaw drops for a bright, short open vowel, delivered as a complete beat rather than a lead-in.

so Crisp s, then a stationary o. Neither the s nor the vowel should lengthen even though this is the middle of the word.

bu A crisp b, then the unrounded u. Watch the lips: they close for the b, and the temptation is to leave them rounded for the vowel. Spread them instead.

Hear it in a sentence

子供たちが外で遊んでいます。

Kodomotachi ga soto de asonde imasu.

The children are playing outside.

Listen: 子供たちが外で遊んでいます。

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子供たちが外で遊んでいます uses 遊んで, where the bu becomes a moraic nasal: a-so-n-de, four morae with a beat of humming in the third position. 子供たち in front is five morae. The sentence runs long, and the ん in the verb is where learners typically speed up and lose a count.

Where English speakers slip

Expect your first attempt to sound like "ah-SOH-boo," with a stressed diphthongised middle and a rounded final vowel. Level the three beats, keep the o fixed, and unround the u. The b is fine as-is — it's one of the few Japanese consonants that maps closely onto its English counterpart, so save your attention for the vowels.