Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "まで" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce まで in Japanese?

まで is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ma.de/. It means “until / as far as.” ma-de, two short beats, ending on a flat "deh" rather than an English "day."

ma-de, two short beats, ending on a flat "deh" rather than an English "day."

まで /ma.de/

made

Neither beat is promoted, and the pitch simply climbs from ma to de and holds. Since this word attaches to the end of a noun phrase, its evenness keeps the whole phrase's rhythm intact — a swollen まで makes the noun in front of it sound truncated by contrast.

Listen: まで

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Sound it out

ma A relaxed m into a short bright a. Nothing emphatic — this is a particle-like word that leans on its noun.

de Dental d, tongue tip on the upper teeth, then a fixed front e. The lips and tongue must not move during the vowel; any movement produces the English glide.

Hear it in a sentence

五時まで働きます。

Go-ji made hatarakimasu.

I work until five.

Listen: 五時まで働きます。

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五時まで働きます opens with 五時 (go-ji), two crisp morae, then まで, then a six-mora verb. 働きます is worth slowing down: ha-ta-ra-ki-ma-su, with a tapped r in the middle and a final devoiced su. Six equal beats in a row is a serious test of even timing, and the まで beforehand sets the tempo.

Where English speakers slip

The final vowel is the trouble spot — "MAH-day" with a diphthong and an English stress on the first beat. Japanese e never glides. The other issue is length: learners stretch まで because it feels like a content word, when it behaves rhythmically much more like a suffix. Two short, level beats, then straight on to the verb.