Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "ここ" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce ここ in Japanese?

ここ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ko.ko/. It means “here.” ko-ko, two identical short beats — same consonant, same vowel, same length.

ko-ko, two identical short beats — same consonant, same vowel, same length.

ここ /ko.ko/

koko

A word built from the same mora twice is a perfect diagnostic. Both beats are the same size, and the melody rises across them without falling back. If one half sounds stronger, longer, or clearer than the other, that's English reducing an unstressed syllable.

Listen: ここ

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Sound it out

ko A k so lightly released that English ears may hear a g, then a mid-back o that stays exactly where it starts.

ko An exact repeat. Any difference you hear between the two beats is English rhythm intruding, since Japanese gives repeated morae identical treatment.

Hear it in a sentence

ここに来てください。

Koko ni kite kudasai.

Come here.

Listen: ここに来てください。

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

ここに来てください pairs it with 来て (ki-te), where the ki between voiceless sounds tends to devoice. So you get two fully-voiced identical beats, then a whispered one, then ください's four. The sentence is a small survey of how much voicing varies while timing does not.

Where English speakers slip

The reflex is "KOH-koh" with English stress on the first beat and diphthongs on both o's. Neither vowel moves in Japanese, and neither beat outranks the other. Say it flatter and shorter than feels natural — the word should sound almost mechanical, which is exactly right.