Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "思う" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 思う in Japanese?

思う is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /o.mo.ɯ/. It means “to think.” o-mo-u, three beats — in casual speech the last two often merge into a long "oo," but the count stays at three.

o-mo-u, three beats — in casual speech the last two often merge into a long "oo," but the count stays at three.

思う /o.mo.ɯ/

omou

The melody peaks on the middle beat; all three take the same time. The final vowel is the one to watch: whether you articulate a distinct u or let it merge into a long o with the mora before it, the word must still take three counts. English speakers typically deliver two and finish early.

Listen: 思う

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

Sound it out

o A short pure o with the lips in a fixed position. No glide, no lengthening.

mo The m closes the lips, then an o of exactly the same quality as the first. Two identical vowels in consecutive morae — a good check on whether you're reducing.

u The final u is a beat in itself, with flat lips. Because the preceding vowel is o, the two often run together in ordinary speech into what sounds like a single long o — but that fused version still occupies two morae.

Hear it in a sentence

どう思いますか。

Dou omoimasu ka?

What do you think about it?

Listen: どう思いますか。

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

どう思いますか opens with どう, a long o held for two beats, and then 思います gives you o-mo-i-ma-su — five morae where the u of the dictionary form has become an i. Two words in a row starting with o-sounds, both of which need their full length before the question particle arrives.

Where English speakers slip

A two-beat "oh-MOH" is the usual output, with the final vowel dropped entirely because it's unstressed and therefore, by English logic, disposable. It isn't. Either articulate the u separately or hold the o long — but don't stop after two beats. Also freeze both o's: any lip movement during them imports the English diphthong.