If you’re studying Japanese pronunciation, preparing for the JLPT, or training to become a Japanese language teacher, this guide is for you. In this article, we explore Japanese plosive consonants—sounds like [p], [b], [t], [d], [k], and [g]—using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). Each sound is explained with real example words in Japanese and English, so you can easily understand how they work across languages.
Unlike in English or Indonesian, Japanese doesn’t allow consonants at the end of syllables (except for ん [ɴ] and っ). That’s why learning how plosives function in Japanese is especially helpful for improving your speaking, listening, and even teaching skills.
Let’s take a look at these core sounds with IPA transcriptions, usage notes, and word comparisons!
[p] — Voiceless Bilabial Plosive
The sound [p] is produced by pressing both lips together and releasing air without vibrating the vocal cords. In English, it appears in many positions—beginning (pen), middle (paper), or end (stop).
In Japanese, [p] usually appears at the beginning of a syllable, and often in katakana words (loanwords) or onomatopoeia. Unlike English, Japanese syllables don’t end in [p], and aspirated [pʰ] (with a burst of air) is not used.
Tip for learners: Japanese [p] is softer and less aspirated than in English. No “puff of air” needed!
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| パン (pan) | [paɴ] | bread (loanword) |
| ポケット (poketto) | [po.ke.t.to] | |
| ストップ (sutoppu) | [su.to.p.pu] | stop |
| ピアノ (piano) | [pi.a.no] | piano |
| カップ (kappu) | [ka.p.pu] | cup, mug |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| pen | [pɛn] | writing tool |
| paper | [ˈpeɪ.pɚ] (US) / [ˈpeɪ.pə] (UK) | sheet of paper, report |
| stop | [stɑːp] (UK) / [stɑp] (US) | to halt |
| people | [ˈpiː.pəl] | people |
| apple | [ˈæ.pəl] | apple |
📝 Notes
- [p] is the voiceless counterpart of [b].
- In Japanese, [p] appears mostly at the start of syllables and in loanwords.
- The small っ (sokuon) in Japanese (e.g. カップ) creates a doubled [p] sound like [kappu] = [ka.p.pu].
- Japanese [p] is less aspirated than English—no strong burst of air.
- There are no native Japanese words that end with [p].
[b] — Voiced Bilabial Plosive
The sound [b] is made by pressing both lips together and releasing air while vibrating the vocal cords. It is the voiced counterpart of [p].
In English, [b] can appear at the beginning (baby), middle (table), or end (cab) of a word. In Japanese, [b] is often found at the beginning of syllables and mostly appears in loanwords and onomatopoeia. Native Japanese words that start with [b] are rare, and [b] never appears at the end of a syllable.
Tip for learners: Japanese [b] is soft and smooth—voiced but not explosive.
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| バス (basu) | [ba.su] | bus |
| ボール (bōru) | [boː.ru] | ball |
| バナナ (banana) | [ba.na.na] | banana |
| 爆発 (bakuhatsu) | [ba.ku.ha.tsu] | explosion |
| 罰 (batsu) | [ba.tsu] | punishment, penalty |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| baby | [ˈbeɪ.bi] | infant |
| book | [bʊk] | reading material |
| cab | [kæb] | taxi (US) |
| number | [ˈnʌm.bɚ] (US) / [ˈnʌm.bə] (UK) | numeral |
| table | [ˈteɪ.bəl] | piece of furniture |
📝 Notes
- [b] is the voiced counterpart of [p].
- In Japanese, [b] mostly appears in loanwords and onomatopoeia, such as バナナ or ボール.
- It usually comes at the start of a syllable, and is never used at the end of a word.
- Unlike English, Japanese [b] is less forceful and doesn’t have a strong burst of sound.
- In native Japanese, voiced consonants like [b] often arise through rendaku (連濁, sequential voicing), as in 手(te) + 紙(kami) → 手紙 (tegami), where [k] becomes [g]).
[t] — Voiceless Alveolar Plosive
The sound [t] is made by placing the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (just behind the upper front teeth), then releasing a burst of air without vocal cord vibration. It’s the voiceless counterpart of [d].
In English, [t] appears at the beginning (top), middle (water), and end (cat) of words. In some dialects (like American English), the middle [t] may become a soft “flap” or even sound like [d].
In Japanese, [t] is pronounced clearly and does not flap. It occurs at the start of syllables and sometimes as a doubled sound (with っ, the sokuon).
Tip for learners: Japanese [t] is more clearly articulated than the relaxed [t] in American English. Keep your tongue firm and avoid turning it into [d].
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| たこ (tako) | [ta.ko] | octopus |
| トイレ (toire) | [to.i.re] | toilet |
| ポケット (poketto) | [po.ke.t.to] | |
| ホット (hotto) | [ho.t.to] | hot (loanword) |
| チケット (chiketto) | [chi.ke.t.to] | ticket (loanword) |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| top | [tɑp] | highest point |
| water | [ˈwɑː.tɚ] (US) / [ˈwɔː.tə] (UK) | drinking water |
| cat | [kæt] | domestic animal |
| time | [taɪm] | clock time, duration |
| city | [ˈsɪ.ti] | town or urban area |
📝 Notes
- [t] is the voiceless version of [d].
- In Japanese, plosives are relatively weak and are pronounced softly, such as in “タチツテト.”
- Japanese [t] is always pronounced clearly—even in the middle of words.
- The small っ (sokuon) doubles the [t] sound (e.g., チケット = [chi.ke.t.to]).
- In American English, [t] can sound like a soft [d] between vowels (e.g., “butter”), but this doesn’t happen in Japanese.
[d] — Voiced Alveolar Plosive
The sound [d] is made by placing the tip of the tongue against the alveolar ridge (just behind the upper front teeth), then releasing the air while vibrating the vocal cords. It is the voiced counterpart of [t].
In English, [d] appears in all positions: beginning (dog), middle (middle), and end (food). The sound is usually crisp, though it may become softer in casual or connected speech.
In Japanese, [d] is used at the beginning of syllables, but it never appears at the end of native words. It’s pronounced more softly than in English, especially in loanwords.
Tip for learners: Japanese [d] may sound weaker than English [d], especially at the end of loanwords (e.g., カード = kādo). Try not to overemphasize the sound.
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| どこ (doko) | [do.ko] | where |
| だれ (dare) | [da.re] | who |
| サラダ (sarada) | [sa.ra.da] | salad |
| カード (kādo) | [kaː.do] | card (credit/ID/etc.) |
| ドア (doa) | [do.a] | door |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| dog | [dɑg] | domestic animal |
| day | [deɪ] | a 24-hour period |
| food | [fuːd] | edible items |
| under | [ˈʌn.dɚ] (US) / [ˈʌn.də] (UK) | beneath something |
| middle | [ˈmɪ.dəl] | the center |
📝 Notes
- [d] is the voiced counterpart of [t].
- Japanese [d] is generally softer and used only at the beginning or middle of words.
- In loanwords (like カード), the [d] at the end is often less pronounced than in English.
[k] — Voiceless Velar Plosive
The sound [k] is produced by raising the back of the tongue to the soft palate (velum), blocking airflow, and then releasing it without vibrating the vocal cords. It’s a voiceless plosive and the unvoiced counterpart of [g].
In English, [k] is common at the beginning (cat), middle (baker), and end (back) of words. It’s often strongly aspirated at the start of stressed syllables, especially in American English.
In Japanese, [k] also appears at the beginning of syllables, both in native and loanwords. It can be doubled with the small っ (sokuon) to create a sharper, tense stop (e.g., カッコイイ = “cool”).
Tip for learners: Japanese [k] is less aspirated than English [k], especially at the beginning of words. Try to pronounce it crisply, but without a burst of air.
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| かみ (kami) | [ka.mi] | paper / god / hair (depends on kanji) |
| きく (kiku) | [ki.ku] | to hear / chrysanthemum / to be effective |
| ケーキ (kēki) | [keː.ki] | cake (loanword) |
| カメラ (kamera) | [ka.me.ra] | camera (loanword) |
| トイレ (toire) | [to.i.re] | toilet (loanword) |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| cat | [kæt] | domestic feline |
| cake | [keɪk] | sweet dessert |
| back | [bæk] | rear side |
| cold | [koʊld] | not warm |
| make | [meɪk] | to produce or create |
📝 Notes
- [k] is the voiceless version of [g].
- Japanese [k] is usually pronounced without aspiration, making it sound softer than English [k].
- The sokuon (small っ) doubles the consonant and creates a tense stop, as in カッパ [kap.pa].
[g] — Voiced Velar Plosive
The sound [g] is made by blocking airflow with the back of the tongue against the soft palate (velum), then releasing it while vibrating the vocal cords. It is the voiced counterpart of [k].
In English, [g] appears in all positions: beginning (go), middle (begin), and occasionally end (dog). It has a clearer, heavier sound than [k] because of the voicing.
In Japanese, [g] is also common but is often weaker than in English, especially between vowels, where it can become a nasalized variant [ŋ] (called 鼻濁音 bidakuon). For example, がくせい (student) may be pronounced as [ŋa.ku.seː] instead of [ga.ku.seː].
Tip for learners: Japanese [g] between vowels often sounds like [ŋ] (like sing)—don’t be surprised! But it’s still written as “g” and understood that way.
🇯🇵 Example Words in Japanese
| Word | IPA (simplified) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| がっこう (gakkō) | [gak.koː] | school |
| ぎんこう (ginkō) | [giɴ.koː] | bank |
| かがく (kagaku) | [ka.ga.ku] | science |
| エネルギー (enerugī) | [e.ne.ru.giː] | energy |
| バック (bakku) | [ba.k.ku] | bag, back (loanword) |
🇺🇸 Example Words in English
| Word | IPA | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| go | [ɡoʊ] | to move |
| get | [ɡɛt] | to receive |
| dog | [dɔɡ] (UK) / [dɑɡ] (US) | animal |
| begin | [bɪ.ɡɪn] | to start |
| big | [bɪɡ] | large |
Notes
- [g] is the voiced version of [k].
- In Japanese, [g] can soften into [ŋ] between vowels (鼻濁音). This happens often in natural speech but not always written or marked.
