Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "眠い" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 眠い in Japanese?

眠い is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ne.mɯ.i/. It means “sleepy.” ne-mu-i, three beats — a flat "neh," an unrounded u, and a separate final i.

ne-mu-i, three beats — a flat "neh," an unrounded u, and a separate final i.

眠い /ne.mɯ.i/

nemui

Three units, cut to the same size, with a crest in the middle. The u-to-i transition at the end is subtle because both are high vowels — the way to keep the count honest is to make the u genuinely back and unrounded so it contrasts audibly with the front i.

Listen: 眠い

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Sound it out

ne The tongue tip meets the ridge for the n, then a short front e anchored in one position — no drift toward "nay."

mu The lips close for the m and then spread for the unrounded u. Leaving them pursed gives an English "moo."

i A crisp short i taking the final beat, arriving off the u. Two high vowels in a row, so each needs its own clear quality.

Hear it in a sentence

朝はいつも眠いです。

Asa wa itsumo nemui desu.

I am always sleepy in the morning.

Listen: 朝はいつも眠いです。

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朝はいつも眠いです has いつも (i-tsu-mo) with its affricate and 朝 (a-sa) with two identical vowels. So the sentence gives you a matched vowel pair, an affricate and then an adjective ending in two vowels that mustn't merge.

Where English speakers slip

"ne-MOO-ee" rounds and stresses the middle vowel and stretches the final one. Spread the lips, level the beats, and clip the closing i. Learners also diphthongise the opening e into "nay," which is a separate error and just as audible.