Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "かなり" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce かなり in Japanese?

かなり is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ka.na.ɾi/. It means “quite / fairly.” ka-na-ri, three even beats, with two matching a's and a single tap.

ka-na-ri, three even beats, with two matching a's and a single tap.

かなり /ka.na.ɾi/

kanari

Unaccented in standard speech: the pitch steps up after ka and holds, over three equal units. Since the word means "quite," English speakers instinctively lean on it for intensity; Japanese conveys the intensity lexically and delivers the word flat.

Listen: かなり

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Sound it out

ka Unaspirated k, then a bright short a.

na This n uses the tip against the ridge, and the a after it is identical in quality and length to the first.

ri One flick of the tongue tip on the ridge, then a short tense i. Keep the tap light — heavier contact turns it into a d.

Hear it in a sentence

この本はかなり面白いです。

Kono hon wa kanari omoshiroi desu.

This book is quite interesting.

Listen: この本はかなり面白いです。

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この本はかなり面白いです is followed by 面白い, five morae ending on a bare i that must not fuse with the ro before it. So the sentence puts a flat three-beat adverb in front of a long adjective, and both need to run at exactly the same tempo.

Where English speakers slip

The trap is emphasis: "ka-NAH-ree" with a stressed stretched middle and a long final vowel. Level the three beats, match the two a's, and clip the i. Learners also import an English r, which rounds the lips and darkens the vowel before it — one quick tap leaves the surrounding sounds untouched.