Japanese · Pronunciation Guide

How do you pronounce "全部" in Japanese?

Q: How do you pronounce 全部 in Japanese?

全部 is pronounced with the stress described below. In IPA it is written /dzem.bɯ/. It means “all / everything.” zen-bu, three beats — the ん takes a full count and turns into an m-ish hum because a b follows.

zen-bu, three beats — the ん takes a full count and turns into an m-ish hum because a b follows.

全部 /dzem.bɯ/

zenbu

Three morae, with the nasal in the middle carrying no vowel of its own. That middle beat is the whole rhythmic story: English reads two syllables and delivers two beats, while Japanese spends a third of the word's duration on a hum. Give it its own honest count.

Listen: 全部

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Sound it out

ze Word-initially this is a voiced affricate closer to "dz" than to a plain z: the tongue starts in the d position and releases into the buzz. The e afterwards is short and fixed.

n A whole mora of nasal, and its colour is determined by what comes next. Because the following mora starts with b, the lips close and this ん is realised as an m — so the word genuinely sounds like "zem" before the release.

bu A clean b into the unrounded u. Keep the lips flat as the vowel emerges, even though they were just closed for the b.

Hear it in a sentence

宿題を全部やりました。

Shukudai o zenbu yarimashita.

I did all my homework.

Listen: 宿題を全部やりました。

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宿題を全部やりました opens with 宿題 (shu-ku-da-i), where the ku between two voiceless consonants routinely devoices, so the word can sound like "shk'dai." Then 全部 arrives with its full nasal beat. One word losing a vowel entirely and another gaining a vowel-less beat, side by side.

Where English speakers slip

"ZEN-boo" is the standard English attempt: two syllables, a stressed first, a rounded final vowel, and a quick n rather than a held one. Three fixes — hold the nasal (and let it become an m before the b, which will feel wrong but is correct), unround the u, and level out the emphasis so neither syllable dominates.