Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "待つ" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 待つ in Japanese?

待つ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ma.tsɯ̥/. It means “to wait.” ma-tsu, two beats, and the tsu is a single affricate — not "mat" plus "soo."

ma-tsu, two beats, and the tsu is a single affricate — not "mat" plus "soo."

待つ /ma.tsɯ̥/

matsu

Equal slots, with the melody high on ma. Even when the final vowel is whispered away, the second beat is still measured out — a native 待つ takes the same total time as a fully voiced two-mora word like 見る.

Listen: 待つ

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Sound it out

ma A relaxed m into a short bright a. Nothing pushed or lengthened.

tsu One gesture: the tongue seals for t and releases directly into the s hiss. The u after it is unrounded and, at the end of a word, typically devoiced, so the mora can sound like nothing more than the ts.

Hear it in a sentence

ここで待っています。

Koko de matte imasu.

I'll wait for you here.

Listen: ここで待っています。

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ここで待っています uses 待って, where the tsu becomes a geminate t: ma-t-te, three morae with a silent held beat. Seeing the same verb produce a tsu in one form and a doubled t in another shows how closely the two are related in Japanese phonology — both involve holding the tongue in the t position.

Where English speakers slip

The affricate is the problem: learners say "MAT-soo" with an audible gap between the t and the s and a rounded final vowel. Fuse them into one release, spread the lips, and let the vowel go voiceless. It should sound like the end of English "cats" attached to a "ma," all within two even beats.