Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "誰か" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 誰か in Japanese?

誰か is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /da.ɾe.ka/. It means “someone / anyone.” da-re-ka, three even beats — a tap in the middle and a か that isn't a question marker.

da-re-ka, three even beats — a tap in the middle and a か that isn't a question marker.

誰か /da.ɾe.ka/

dareka

Three slots, evenly cut. Set it beside 誰も (dare mo): identical rhythm, identical first two beats, and only the final mora distinguishes "someone" from "no one." That final beat therefore has to be clear — and it must not be lengthened for emphasis.

Listen: 誰か

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Sound it out

da A dental d with a quiet release into a bright short a.

re The tongue tip strikes the ridge once and drops, then a short front e with no upward glide.

ka Quiet k again, then an a identical to the first one. This か belongs to the word itself and carries no questioning force.

Hear it in a sentence

玄関に誰かいます。

Genkan ni dareka imasu.

There's someone at the door.

Listen: 玄関に誰かいます。

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玄関に誰かいます opens with 玄関 (ge-n-ka-n), four morae with two nasal beats, the first coloured by the following k. So the sentence starts with two vowel-less units and then delivers three plain vowel-bearing ones — a full swing between the two kinds of mora.

Where English speakers slip

"DAH-reh-ka" stresses the front and stretches the a. Level all three beats. The bigger issue is the r: an English approximant here rounds the lips and blurs the boundary between re and ka, where a single tap keeps the two beats cleanly separated.