Some familiar Japanese words have readings that belong to the whole spelling.
The idea
In jukujikun, a Japanese word is associated with a compound as a whole: 今日 is きょう and 大人 is おとな. The reading cannot be reliably divided among the individual characters. Learn spelling, sound and meaning together.
| Word | Reading |
|---|---|
| 今日 | きょう |
| 明日 | あした |
| 昨日 | きのう |
| 大人 | おとな |
| 果物 | くだもの |
| 今朝 | けさ |
Examples
- 今日は図書館へ行きます。Today I will go to the library.
- 明日は天気がいいです。Tomorrow the weather will be good.
- 昨日は友達と映画を見ました。Yesterday I watched a film with a friend.
- 大人が二人います。There are two adults.
- 食事の後に果物を食べました。I ate fruit after the meal.
- 今朝は風が冷たいです。The wind is cold this morning.
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 assume the usual reading of each kanji will produce the word. 明日 can also be read あす; context and usage matter, so check a dictionary when unsure.
Try it yourself
今日 → ＿（きょう／きのう）
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きょう
今日 is きょう, “today”; きのう is 昨日, “yesterday”.
大人 → ＿（おとな／ふたり）
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おとな
大人 is おとな, “adult”; ふたり reads 二人, “two people”.
果物 → ＿（くだもの／けさ）
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くだもの
果物 is くだもの, “fruit”; けさ reads 今朝, “this morning”.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
今日 → ＿（きょう／きのう）
大人 → ＿（おとな／ふたり）
果物 → ＿（くだもの／けさ）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Find the six words in the examples, cover their furigana and read each sentence aloud. Then check the table.