Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "森" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 森 in Japanese?

森 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mo.ɾi/. It means “forest / woods.” mo-ri, two short beats — a stationary o and one tongue-tap.

mo-ri, two short beats — a stationary o and one tongue-tap.

森 /mo.ɾi/

mori

A two-count word with both halves alike, with the crest on the first. It makes a good pair with 鳥 (tori): same second mora, same two-beat shape, and both hinge on producing a light tap rather than an English r.

Listen: 森

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Sound it out

mo The lips close and open, giving a mid-back o that stays exactly where it starts rather than gliding toward w.

ri The tongue tip brushes the ridge a single time, then a short tense i. No trill, no curl, no rounding.

Hear it in a sentence

家の近くに森があります。

Ie no chikaku ni mori ga arimasu.

There is a forest near my house.

Listen: 家の近くに森があります。

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家の近くに森があります opens with 家 (i-e), two vowels that must stay separate, and ends with あります and its devoiced final su. So the sentence begins with a vowel-separation problem and ends with a devoicing one, with 森's two plain beats in the middle.

Where English speakers slip

"MOE-ree" glides the o, stresses it, and lengthens the final vowel with an English r before it. Freeze the o, tap the tongue once, and clip the i. In a two-mora word an English r occupies half the available sound, so this substitution is unusually damaging here.