Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "妹" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 妹 in Japanese?

妹 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /i.moː.to/. It means “younger sister.” i-mo-o-to, four beats — the middle o is held for two of them.

i-mo-o-to, four beats — the middle o is held for two of them.

妹 /i.moː.to/

imouto

Four slots with the length parked in the middle, which is an unusual shape. English wants to put its emphasis where the length is and turn the held vowel into a stressed syllable; Japanese keeps the volume level and lets the duration alone mark the difference.

Listen: 妹

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Sound it out

i Tense i, short and forward, with no lengthening despite standing alone.

mou A lip closure releasing into an o that then runs for two full counts. The u in the romaji is a length mark; there is no separate "oo" vowel.

to Dental t, quietly released, into a short o — noticeably briefer than the held one before it.

Hear it in a sentence

妹は大学生です。

Imouto wa daigakusei desu.

My younger sister is a university student.

Listen: 妹は大学生です。

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妹は大学生です follows with 大学生 (da-i-ga-ku-se-i), six morae including a vowel pair at the start, a devoicing-prone ku and a final "ei" pronounced as a long e. That word alone contains three separate timing challenges before です arrives.

Where English speakers slip

"ee-MO-toe" shortens the long vowel to one beat, adds English stress to it, and glides the final o. Hold the middle o for two counts without raising your volume, keep the opening i short, and freeze the last vowel. The contrast between the long middle and short ending is the word's signature.