Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "部分" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 部分 in Japanese?

部分 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /bɯ.bɯɴ/. It means “part / portion.” bu-bu-n, three beats — two identical unrounded u's and a closing hum.

bu-bu-n, three beats — two identical unrounded u's and a closing hum.

部分 /bɯ.bɯɴ/

bubun

Three beats, the last with no vowel in it. The two identical opening morae make this a good lip-position drill: both u's should sound the same, and neither should be rounded. Then hum the ん for its own full count.

Listen: 部分

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Sound it out

bu A clean b, then the unrounded u. The lips close for the consonant and must then spread rather than staying pursed.

bu The same mora again. Two identical beats in a row expose any English tendency to weaken the second.

n A whole beat of nasal, made far back with the mouth open — resonance rather than a snapped-shut n.

Hear it in a sentence

この部分が難しいです。

Kono bubun ga muzukashii desu.

This part is difficult.

Listen: この部分が難しいです。

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この部分が難しいです ends with 難しい, five morae with two unrounded u's of its own and a long final i. So the sentence contains four u vowels in total, none of them rounded — an unusually concentrated test of one small articulatory habit.

Where English speakers slip

"BOO-boon" rounds both u's, stresses the first beat, and turns the nasal into a closing consonant. Spread the lips for both vowels, level the two beats, and give the ん its own count. The rounding error doubles here, which makes it especially audible.