Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "この" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce この in Japanese?

この is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ko.no/. It means “this.” ko-no, two short beats with two pure o's and no stress on either.

ko-no, two short beats with two pure o's and no stress on either.

この /ko.no/

kono

Two morae, both with the same vowel, so any inequality is an English import. The word is unaccented and always attaches directly to the noun it modifies, meaning この plus a noun forms one continuous rhythmic unit rather than two separately-timed words.

Listen: この

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Sound it out

ko An unaspirated k into a mid-back o that stays fixed. English "co-" glides; this doesn't move once it starts.

no The n touches the ridge behind the teeth; then an identical o. Both vowels have exactly the same quality — no reduction on the second just because it comes last.

Hear it in a sentence

この本は面白いです。

Kono hon wa omoshiroi desu.

This book is interesting.

Listen: この本は面白いです。

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この本は面白いです binds この to 本 with no gap: ko-no-ho-n, four morae, the last of which is the nasal beat of 本. Then 面白い is five morae (o-mo-shi-ro-i), a long adjective with a tapped r and a final vowel that must stay separate from the ro before it. It's a good rhythm workout in a short sentence.

Where English speakers slip

First attempts land on "KOH-noh" with two long diphthongised o's and stress on the first, essentially the Italian pronunciation of a name. Japanese o is a single steady position — if your lips round further as the vowel proceeds, that's the English glide. Shorten both beats, keep them equal, and run the word straight into the following noun.