Learn to count the rhythmic beats in familiar Japanese words.
The idea
A mora is a timing unit. Count ね・こ as two; っ and ん each take a beat, as does the second part of a long vowel. Small ょ joins the preceding kana: きょう is きょ・う, two beats.
| Word | Morae |
|---|---|
| ねこ | ね・こ |
| がっこう | が・っ・こ・う |
| きって | き・っ・て |
| しんぶん | し・ん・ぶ・ん |
| きょう | きょ・う |
| コーヒー | コ・ー・ヒ・ー |
Examples
- 猫が庭にいます。A cat is in the garden.
- 学校へ歩いて行きます。I walk to school.
- 切手を二枚買います。I buy two stamps.
- 新聞を朝読みます。I read the newspaper in the morning.
- 今日は雨が降ります。It will rain today.
- コーヒーを一杯飲みます。I drink a cup of coffee.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Do not count written characters or English-style syllables: きょ is one beat, while っ is one beat even though it is a pause.
Try it yourself
「ねこ」は何拍ですか。
Show answer or example answer
2
2: ね・こ has two ordinary beats.
「がっこう」は何拍ですか。
Show answer or example answer
4
4: が・っ・こ・う includes a closure and a long vowel.
「しんぶん」は何拍ですか。
Show answer or example answer
4
4: し・ん・ぶ・ん counts each ん separately.
「きょう」は何拍ですか。
Show answer or example answer
2
2: きょ is one beat and う adds the long vowel’s second beat.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
「ねこ」は何拍ですか。
「がっこう」は何拍ですか。
「しんぶん」は何拍ですか。
「きょう」は何拍ですか。
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
Sign up for free to save your practice results in your account.
Sign up to saveI already have an accountUse it today
Tap once per mora as you read the examples, then cover the table and count each target word aloud.