Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "石" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 石 in Japanese?

石 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /i.ɕi̥/. It means “stone / rock.” i-shi, two beats — two high front vowels, the second of which usually whispers.

i-shi, two beats — two high front vowels, the second of which usually whispers.

石 /i.ɕi̥/

ishi

Two units of identical duration. Both morae contain the same vowel, so the hiss between them is what marks the boundary — and since the second vowel often disappears, the word's rhythm has to be counted rather than heard.

Listen: 石

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Sound it out

i A tight, forward i opening the word, clipped to about half the length of English "ee."

shi A gentle palatal friction with a second i that devoices at the end of a word. Both vowels are the same, but only one is reliably voiced.

Hear it in a sentence

川の近くで石を見つけました。

Kawa no chikaku de ishi o mitsukemashita.

I found a stone near the river.

Listen: 川の近くで石を見つけました。

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川の近くで石を見つけました contains 見つけました, six morae with an affricate in the middle, and 近く with a devoicing-prone ku. So the sentence has whispered vowels in three separate words, all of which still occupy their beats.

Where English speakers slip

"EE-shee" doubles both vowels and stresses the first. Halve them, let the second devoice, and keep both beats equal. Learners also push too much air through the sh — Japanese uses noticeably less, and the sound sits further forward in the mouth.