LingoDrop
Japanese · Pronunciation Guide
How do you pronounce "花" in Japanese?
ha-na, two short beats with two identical a's and a gentle h.
hana
Two matched beats built on the same vowel twice. Standard speech rises across the word with the drop falling on a following particle, which puts it in the same melodic family as 山, 川 and 犬 — a useful group to learn together.
Listen: 花
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Sound it out
Hear it in a sentence
この花はいいにおいがします。
Kono hana wa ii nioi ga shimasu.
This flower smells nice.
Listen: この花はいいにおいがします。
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この花はいいにおいがします contains いい, a long i held for two counts, and におい (ni-o-i), three morae of almost pure vowel. So the sentence pairs a held vowel with a string of separate ones — opposite demands, back to back.
Where English speakers slip
"HAH-nah" stretches and stresses the first beat and weakens the second. Both a's should be short, bright and identical. Learners also strengthen the h into the English version; Japanese は is closer to a shaped exhalation than to a true fricative.