Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "店" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 店 in Japanese?

店 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mi.se/. It means “shop / store.” mi-se, two short beats — a clipped i and a flat "seh," never "say."

mi-se, two short beats — a clipped i and a flat "seh," never "say."

店 /mi.se/

mise

An unaccented contour that rises and stays up, over two units of equal length. Both vowels are short and neither beat carries emphasis, which makes the word noticeably quicker than English speakers expect from two syllables.

Listen: 店

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Sound it out

mi m formed with a simple lip closure, then a short tense i about half the length of English "me."

se The s is brief and clean, opening onto a short front e anchored in one position. The English instinct is to glide toward "say"; hold the tongue still instead.

Hear it in a sentence

店は七時に閉まります。

Mise wa shichi-ji ni shimarimasu.

The shop closes at seven.

Listen: 店は七時に閉まります。

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店は七時に閉まります uses 七時 read as "shichi-ji" rather than nana-ji, so the sentence quietly demonstrates that Japanese counters select between readings. 閉まります afterwards has a tap and five morae — plenty to keep even after the two quick beats of 店.

Where English speakers slip

"MEE-say" doubles the first vowel and diphthongises the second. Halve the i, anchor the e, and keep both beats equal. Learners also occasionally lengthen the s for clarity, which stretches the second mora — every consonant here should be as brief as possible.