Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "強い" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 強い in Japanese?

強い is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /tsɯ.jo.i/. It means “strong.” tsu-yo-i, three beats — a word-initial affricate, then two more morae that mustn't fuse.

tsu-yo-i, three beats — a word-initial affricate, then two more morae that mustn't fuse.

強い /tsɯ.jo.i/

tsuyoi

Crest on yo, three units, and no difference in length between them. The word has a hard onset and a delicate ending, and English speakers tend to over-invest in the tsu and then rush the final i — keep the tempo even so all three beats get the same time.

Listen: 強い

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Sound it out

tsu The affricate at the start of a word, where English never puts it. One gesture: seal for t, release into s. The u is unrounded and often lightly devoiced here.

yo A y-glide into a stationary o, all in one mora. The vowel must not drift toward a w at the end.

i A bare short i as its own beat, arriving directly off the o with nothing in between.

Hear it in a sentence

彼はとても強いです。

Kare wa totemo tsuyoi desu.

He is very strong.

Listen: 彼はとても強いです。

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彼はとても強いです pairs it with とても, three quick short beats that set a tempo. Then 強いです adds three more plus the devoiced copula. There's nothing long in the sentence at all, which makes it a pure exercise in keeping short morae from getting shorter as you go.

Where English speakers slip

"tsoo-YOY" is the usual output: a rounded u, a stressed middle, and the last two morae fused into the vowel of English "boy." Spread the lips, level the emphasis, and give the closing i its own pulse. The tsu also loses its t in many learners' mouths — make sure the stop is audible inside the single affricate gesture.