Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "ペン" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce ペン in Japanese?

ペン is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /peɴ/. It means “pen.” pe-n, two beats — longer than English "pen," because the nasal is a beat of its own.

pe-n, two beats — longer than English "pen," because the nasal is a beat of its own.

ペン /peɴ/

pen

Two beats for a word English reads as one syllable. The vowel is short and pure, and the nasal is a full unit of time — so the Japanese word is measurably longer than its English source despite looking identical on the page.

Listen: ペン

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Sound it out

pe A p released without the strong puff English gives "pen," then a short front e that stays in one position.

n The moraic nasal, taking a whole beat. Word-finally it's made far back with the mouth still open, so it hums rather than closing crisply.

Hear it in a sentence

ペンを貸してくれませんか。

Pen o kashite kuremasen ka?

Could you lend me a pen?

Listen: ペンを貸してくれませんか。

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ペンを貸してくれませんか ends with くれませんか, which contains another moraic ん before the question particle. So the sentence has two nasal beats, and the second one arrives at a point where learners are already rushing to finish.

Where English speakers slip

Saying the English word "pen" gives one beat, an aspirated p and a lax vowel. Japanese wants a soft p, a tense short e, and a separate beat of humming. Hold a palm to your mouth: if the p sends air onto it, the release is too forceful.