Hear how Japanese words are paced in morae, short timing units that are not always written as separate full-size kana.
The idea
Mandarin learners may be used to attending to syllables and lexical tones. Japanese timing instead requires attention to morae: ん, small っ and vowel length contribute time within a word. Japanese pitch accent is not the same system as Mandarin tone; count first, then listen to natural speech. A basic kana often takes one mora. Small っ, ん and a long vowel each add one; a small ゃ, ゅ or ょ combines with the preceding kana. Thus きゃく has two morae and きって has three.
| Word | Morae |
|---|---|
| きゃく | きゃ・く |
| きって | き・っ・て |
| にほん | に・ほ・ん |
| がっこう | が・っ・こ・う |
| コーヒー | コ・ー・ヒ・ー |
Examples
- 雪は白いです。Snow is white.
- 駅は遠いです。The station is far away.
- 切符を買います。I buy a ticket.
- このケーキを切ってください。Please cut this cake.
- コーヒーを飲みます。I drink coffee.
- お客さんが来ます。A customer is coming.
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
Morae are timing units, not stressed beats of equal mechanical duration. Do not give small ゃ an extra beat or skip the small っ.
Try it yourself
Choose the word with 3 morae: （きって／きて）
Show answer or example answer
きって
きって has three morae: き・っ・て; the small っ takes time.
Choose the word with 4 morae: （コーヒー／コヒー）
Show answer or example answer
コーヒー
コーヒー has four morae: コ・ー・ヒ・ー; both long vowels count.
Choose the word with 2 morae: （きゃく／きやく）
Show answer or example answer
きゃく
きゃく has two morae: きゃ・く; the small ゃ belongs with き.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Choose the word with 3 morae: （きって／きて）
Choose the word with 4 morae: （コーヒー／コヒー）
Choose the word with 2 morae: （きゃく／きやく）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Tap a steady pulse for きゃく, きって and コーヒー, then say the words naturally. For listening, use the Japan Foundation recordings 01-34, 01-35 linked in the sources.