Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "まだ" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce まだ in Japanese?

まだ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ma.da/. It means “still / not yet.” ma-da, two short beats with two identical a's and a dental d.

ma-da, two short beats with two identical a's and a dental d.

まだ /ma.da/

mada

Both beats are cut the same, with the crest on the first. Built from the same vowel twice, the word exposes any English-style reduction immediately: if the second a sounds weaker or shorter than the first, that's the schwa habit at work.

Listen: まだ

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

Sound it out

ma An unforced m, then a bright short a. Nothing pushed — the word carries no emphasis.

da The tongue tip touches the back of the upper teeth rather than the ridge behind them, releasing into a second a identical to the first.

Hear it in a sentence

まだ終わっていません。

Mada owatte imasen.

I haven't finished yet.

Listen: まだ終わっていません。

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

まだ終わっていません uses 終わって with its geminate — o-wa-t-te, four morae including a beat of held silence — and ends with いません and its moraic nasal. So after まだ's two plain beats, the sentence asks for a silent beat and then a nasal one, neither of which English counts.

Where English speakers slip

"MAH-da" with a stretched, stressed first syllable and a weakened second is the standard version. Both a's should be short, bright and identical. Watch the d as well: English makes it on the ridge behind the teeth with a slight puff, while Japanese places it on the teeth themselves and releases it quietly.