Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "問題" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 問題 in Japanese?

問題 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mon.da.i/. It means “problem.” mo-n-da-i, four beats — a nasal beat in the middle and a separate i at the end.

mo-n-da-i, four beats — a nasal beat in the middle and a separate i at the end.

問題 /mon.da.i/

mondai

Four beats, two of which English wouldn't count: the vowel-less nasal and the bare final vowel. English delivers this word in two syllables, which halves it. Hum the ん and pulse the i separately, and the length roughly doubles.

Listen: 問題

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Sound it out

mo Lips close and part, giving a stationary short o.

n A beat of pure nasal. Because a d follows, the tongue tip goes to the teeth-ridge and stays there — a held n, not a back-of-mouth hum.

da The release into a dental d and a bright short a.

i A brief high front vowel as its own beat, arriving directly off the a with no glide.

Hear it in a sentence

大きな問題があります。

Ookina mondai ga arimasu.

We have a big problem.

Listen: 大きな問題があります。

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大きな問題があります opens with 大きな, four morae with a long o at the front, and closes with あります and its devoiced su. So the sentence contains a held vowel, a held nasal and a whispered one, in that order.

Where English speakers slip

"mon-DIE" is the standard version, fusing the last two morae and reducing the nasal to a closing consonant. Two separate fixes, and both add a beat. English speakers also place the d on the ridge with a small puff; Japanese puts it on the teeth and releases it quietly.