Recognize 音 in words such as 音 and 音楽; connect each whole word with its reading and meaning.

The idea

Common Chinese-derived readings include オン. Japanese-origin readings include おと・ね. Compare 音 (おと) with 音楽 (おんがく). 音 has 9 strokes; follow their order in the linked KanjiVG diagram.

Patterns to compare
Japanese wordReadingMeaning
音おとsound
音楽おんがくmusic
発音はつおんpronunciation

Examples

  • 朝あさ、音楽おんがくを聞ききます。I listen to music in the morning.
  • その音おとは不思議ふしぎです。That sound is mysterious.
  • 今日きょうは音楽おんがくを聞ききません。I am not listening to music today.
  • 今いま、子こどもが音楽おんがくを聞きいています。A child is listening to music now.
  • 発音はつおんを毎日まいにち練習れんしゅうします。I practise pronunciation every day.
  • この音おとが聞きこえますか。Can you hear this sound?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

In these examples, 音 is おと as a word; in 音楽 and 発音 it is おん. Compare 音 with 言: look for 日 in 音.

Try it yourself

  1. Write the reading of 音 in hiragana.

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    おと

    音 is read おと; the whole word means sound.

  2. Write the reading of 音楽 in hiragana.

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    おんがく

    音楽 is read おんがく; the whole word means music.

  3. Fill in the missing kanji: 発＿（はつおん）.

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    音

    音 completes 発音, read はつおん; the whole word means pronunciation.

Use it today

Cover the table, write 音 from memory, and read 音 and 音楽 aloud. Make a sentence, then check the readings and meanings.