Syllables vs Moras: The Most Undervalued Part of Good Japanese Pronunciation
This may be the single most undervalued part of good Japanese pronunciation, especially if you’re a native or fluent English speaker. Curious? Watch the video above, keep reading, or do both!
Welcome back to another entry on Japanese pronunciation! If you don’t already know me, I’m Sachi and I’m a Japanese teacher and translator. I have 2 one-of-a-kind online courses - Japanese Phonetics 101 and Japanese for Flight Attendants. Check the description below for free resources and more information if you’re curious.
Today’s topic is on what I argue is the most undervalued aspect of a good Japanese accent - and that comes from understanding syllables vs moras, and the rhythm of spoken Japanese.
We’ll first define our key terms, look at some examples, then discuss why this is so important.
Syllable Review
Let’s begin with a quick review on syllables. A syllable is a unit of pronunciation which influences the rhythm of spoken language. Syllable patterns and rules change depending on the language, but basically they consist of a vowel sound which can be accompanied by one or more consonant sounds before and/or after this vowel sound.
Let’s look at how English works to understand this better.
English can have syllables which are a maximum of 3 consonant sounds before a vowel sound, and a maximum of 4 consonant sounds after a vowel sound. Syllables are usually much smaller than this, but this is the biggest they can get.
The word “see” has one vowel sound “ee” and a consonant sound before it “s”. These two sounds make up the word “see” which is one syllable long.
The word “texts” has a vowel sound “eh”, one consonant sound before it “t” and 4 consonant sounds after it “ksts”. “Texts” is also a one syllable word.
“Sunset” has two vowel sounds, “uh” and “eh”. Each of these vowels is the centre of a syllable. The two consonant sounds between these vowel sounds get separated and we get the two syllables “sun” and “set”.
There are syllable structures and rules that get a bit more complex for some words, but we don’t need to worry about that right now.
In English, different syllables are given different “values” through stress. Stressed and unstressed syllables are given different amounts of time (some more time, some less time), and that’s how we get the spoken rhythm that we do. Languages that work in a similar way to English include but are not limited to Thai, German, Danish, and Persian.
Japanese “Syllables” (Which are Actually Moras)
Even though many people say that Japanese has syllables, that’s technically not true. Japanese has moras. Moras are similar, but not the same as syllables.
The easiest way to describe the difference is that moras are like a timed syllable. So one mora is one unit of time, or the way I like to think of it is one mora = one beat.
A mora is called モーラ (mōra) or 拍 (はく/haku) in Japanese. For the most part, you can think of one kana as one mora.
But remember the following points along with that:
ん (n) is one mora
っ (small tsu) is a small kana, but it’s one mora
拗音 (ようおん/yōon) or sounds like きゃ (kya), みゅ (myu), しょ (sho) are two kana (one big and one small) but they’re one mora
Two vowels sounds together like ああ (aa) are two moras
Each mora should be approximately the same duration as each of the other moras, but the exact length would depend on things like intonation and emotion.
Other languages that have moras include Gilbertese, Slovak, and Ancient Greek.
Example Words
Let’s look at a few examples before we talk about why this distinction is so important.
Sky, or 空 (そら/sora) is two kana, and also two mora. The big sky, which sounds like a silly translation but we’ll run with it for now, 大空 (おおぞら/oozora) is 4 kana. おおぞら (o-o-zo-ra). The two お (o) are two separate moras, and therefore also separate beats.
If we used the Romaji (English spelling for Japanese words) to count the syllables, we’d also get 2 and 4 syllables, respectively. So in this case, the syllable number and mora number are the same.
But - is that always the case?
Let’s look at another example. One of my rabbits is named Finch.
フィンチ (finchi) is 3 moras. We have フィ (fi) which is a 拗音 (ようおん/yōon) and therefore is one mora, ン (n), and チ (chi).
His nickname, フィンちゃん (fin-chan) is 4 moras. We have two 拗音 (ようおん/yo’on) , plus 2 ン (n) which are one mora each.
If we were to use the Romaji to count the syllables, we’d have 2 syllables for フィンチ (finchi), and 2 syllables for フィンちゃん (fin-chan). Speaking with a mindset focused on syllables would impact your overall pronunciation.
Our final example is the word for computer: コンピューター (kompyūtā). Can you count the mora accurately even with the curveball (long vowels) that I’ve added?
There are 6 mora. コ (ko), ン (n), and タ (ta) are one mora each, as is ピュ (pyu) which is a 拗音 (ようおん/yōon). The two sticks indicate long vowels, and are therefore one mora each as well. So we have 6 mora.
Why is this Important?
If you think you know, consider sharing your answer in the comments below!
The easiest answer to this question is that it helps you improve your pronunciation. And now you understand how to do this.
For some people, it can be a dramatic improvement. If you speak Japanese but others don’t understand you - it may be because your spoken rhythm is off. Focusing on moras has the potential to easily get you past this hurdle.
If you’ve heard things like ‘OHAYOgoZAImas’ instead of おはようございます (ohayōgozaimasu) or ‘GAKO’ instead of 学校 (がっこう/gakkō), taking a look at the moras and using that to fix the rhythm will make a huge difference.
Remember This!
They key things to know how moras work:
For the most part, one kana is one mora. This means that learning to read hiragana and katakana is really important for a good spoken rhythm. Don’t forget that if you see two vowel sounds in a row, each vowel is one mora.
Remember when 1 kana is not 1 mora, and speak accordingly
っ (small tsu) is one mora, so 買った (かった/katta) should not sound like “kata”
拗音 (ようおん/yōon) are one mora so 東京 (とうきょう/tōkyō) should has 4 moras. It should not sound like “Tokiyo”
Making a habit of thinking in moras and practising the rhythm of spoken Japanese has the potential of dramatically improving your pronunciation. This, of course, will influence how easily you can communicate with others, which will in turn give you a confidence boost in your language ability. And honestly, what language learner won’t benefit from a boost in confidence?
Conclusion
If you already know these basics of the Japanese language and you’re looking to level up and differentiate yourself from other learners, consider checking out these resources:
Thanks for sticking around until the end! If you enjoyed it, please leave a comment or question for me! I love hearing from you.
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