Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "持つ" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 持つ in Japanese?

持つ is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /mo.tsɯ̥/. It means “to have / hold.” mo-tsu, two beats, and the tsu is one sound — never "t" plus "soo."

mo-tsu, two beats, and the tsu is one sound — never "t" plus "soo."

持つ /mo.tsɯ̥/

motsu

The accent falls on the first mora, but that is pitch only: mo and tsu take exactly the same time. In practice the second beat is often nearly voiceless, which makes English speakers assume it can be dropped. It can't — the timing slot remains, so the word takes two counts even when you can only hear one and a half.

Listen: 持つ

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Sound it out

mo The m is a simple lip closure; the o after it stays fixed from beginning to end.

tsu A single affricate: the tongue seals for t and releases directly into s in one continuous motion. English only permits this cluster word-finally, as in "cats," so producing it as a whole mora takes deliberate practice. The u is unrounded and, at the end of a word, usually devoiced.

Hear it in a sentence

大きいかばんを持っています。

Ookii kaban o motte imasu.

I have a big bag.

Listen: 大きいかばんを持っています。

Free browser voice. Hear it read by a real native speaker inside the LingoDrop app.

大きいかばんを持っています conjugates it to 持って, which converts the tsu into a geminate: mo-t-te, three morae with a silent held beat in the middle. Watching the same verb move between a tsu and a doubled t is a good way to see how Japanese redistributes length rather than adding or removing it.

Where English speakers slip

The affricate defeats most beginners: they produce "MOE-tsoo" with a separated t and s, rounded lips, and a stressed first syllable. Aim for one gesture — think of the noise at the end of "boots" and move it to the front of a syllable. Then flatten the lips and let the final vowel fade rather than ringing out.