Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "猫" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 猫 in Japanese?

猫 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ne.ko/. It means “cat.” ne-ko, two short beats — a flat "neh," not "nay," and a stationary o.

ne-ko, two short beats — a flat "neh," not "nay," and a stationary o.

猫 /ne.ko/

neko

Two beats, matched in length, with the pitch high on the first and dropping onto the second. That falling shape is stable and audible, and it's what a Japanese listener hears as the word's identity alongside its consonants.

Listen: 猫

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Sound it out

ne Tongue to the ridge for the n, then a short front e anchored in one position. The English instinct is to glide toward "nay"; hold the tongue still.

ko A quiet k with no burst of air, then a mid-back o that stays exactly where it starts.

Hear it in a sentence

猫は一日中寝ています。

Neko wa ichinichijuu nete imasu.

The cat sleeps all day.

Listen: 猫は一日中寝ています。

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猫は一日中寝ています contains 一日中 (i-chi-ni-chi-ju-u), six morae with two affricates and a long u at the end. So a very short noun is followed by an unusually long compound — a good test of whether you can keep the tempo constant across both.

Where English speakers slip

"NAY-ko" diphthongises the first vowel and glides the second toward w. Freeze both. English speakers also convert the pitch drop into a volume drop, weakening the second beat — keep it as loud and as long as the first, and let only the tone fall.