Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "六" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 六 in Japanese?

六 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /ɾo.kɯ̥/. It means “six.” ro-ku with a tapped r, and the final u usually devoices, so it lands close to "rok'."

ro-ku with a tapped r, and the final u usually devoices, so it lands close to "rok'."

六 /ɾo.kɯ̥/

roku

Two morae, and the second one is frequently near-silent — which does not mean it can be skipped. The beat is still there in the rhythm even when the vowel is whispered; native speakers still spend the time on it. The word carries a fall after the first mora, so ro is high and ku drops away.

Listen: 六

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Sound it out

ro A single flick of the tongue tip against the ridge behind the upper teeth, then a pure short o. No lip rounding at all — English r rounds the lips before it even starts, which is the giveaway.

ku A light unaspirated k into the unrounded u. Because that u ends the word and follows a voiceless k, it routinely goes voiceless too, so what remains is often a whispered puff.

Hear it in a sentence

六時に帰ります。

Roku-ji ni kaerimasu.

I'll be back at six.

Listen: 六時に帰ります。

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六時に帰ります combines it into 六時 (ro-ku-ji), where the ku now precedes a voiced j and therefore keeps more of its voicing than in the isolated word. 帰ります later gives you a second flapped r in the same sentence, and the two together are good practice for keeping the tap light both times.

Where English speakers slip

Two English habits collide here. The r gets replaced with a rounded English r, producing "ROH-koo," and the final u gets a full rounded "oo" that no native speaker would use. Tap the tongue once, keep the lips flat throughout, and let the last vowel fade to a whisper — the word should end on breath, not on a rounded vowel.