Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "後で" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 後で in Japanese?

後で is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /a.to.de/. It means “later / after.” a-to-de, three even beats, ending on a flat "deh" rather than an English "day."

a-to-de, three even beats, ending on a flat "deh" rather than an English "day."

後で /a.to.de/

ato de

The melody starts high and steps down over three evenly-cut units. The t and d in the middle beats are made at exactly the same place in the mouth, so the word's rhythm depends on the vowels between them being fully articulated rather than swallowed.

Listen: 後で

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Sound it out

a The jaw drops for a clear short a, filling one beat on its own.

to The t sits on the upper teeth and releases quietly into a stationary short o.

de The voiced counterpart of that t, made in the same dental position, then a front e that holds one position throughout.

Hear it in a sentence

後で電話します。

Ato de denwa shimasu.

I'll call you later.

Listen: 後で電話します。

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後で電話します pairs it with 電話 (de-n-wa), three morae with a nasal beat, and then します. Notice the sentence contains two de morae — one in 後で, one starting 電話 — and both should sound identical, with no glide toward "day" in either.

Where English speakers slip

The English default is "AH-toh-day": a stretched first vowel, a glided o, and a diphthongised final e with stress somewhere in front. Freeze the o, freeze the e, level the three beats, and place both the t and the d on the teeth rather than the ridge behind them.