Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "彼" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 彼 in Japanese?

彼 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ka.ɾe/. It means “he / him.” ka-re, two short beats — an unaspirated k and then a single flick of the tongue.

ka-re, two short beats — an unaspirated k and then a single flick of the tongue.

彼 /ka.ɾe/

kare

Both units are the same size, and the melody rises without ever coming back down. Since this pronoun is often followed immediately by a particle, keeping it unaccented and even lets the particle attach cleanly rather than sounding like a separate stressed word.

Listen: 彼

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Sound it out

ka The k releases quietly, without the breath English puts behind "car." The a is short, bright and open.

re One contact, never several — this is not a trill and not a sustained approximant. Compare the single r of Spanish "pero." The following e is short and does not glide toward "ay."

Hear it in a sentence

彼は私の兄です。

Kare wa watashi no ani desu.

He is my older brother.

Listen: 彼は私の兄です。

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彼は私の兄です ends with 兄 (a-ni), two morae whose n is palatalised by the following i. Notice too that this sentence contains both 彼 and 私, so you get two flap-free and flap-containing pronouns in a row — a useful place to check that your r really is a tap and your final shi is properly short.

Where English speakers slip

English speakers produce "KAH-ray": a stressed, lengthened first syllable and a diphthongised second. Neither beat carries stress in Japanese, both vowels are short, and the e ends where it starts. Aspirating the k is the other tell — practise it with a hand in front of your mouth until no air escapes.