Description of the Japanese Pronunciation い
![Picture of Mouth for Pronunciation [i]](https://www.wasabi-jpn.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/i.gif)
The pronunciations of Japanese vowels are determined by 3 factors; two of which are the position of your tongue, high or low (1) and front or back (2), and the final factor is the form of your mouth (3). When you pronounce い, you are going to open both sides of your mouth wide (like an open-mouthed smile) and raise your tongue almost to the front part of the roof of your mouth (at the high and the front position).
Does it make sense to you? Let’s try to pronounce [i] い after the tutor on the video!
Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons
Words Exercise with the Pronunciation [i] い
Please repeat the following words after the tutor on the video.
| Words | Roman Letters | Meanings |
|---|---|---|
| いま |
i ma
|
now |
| いえ | i e | house |
| いく | i ku | to go |
| 入れる | i re ru | to put in |
| いくつ | i ku tsu | how many, how old? |
| いくら | i ku ra | how much? |
| いろいろ | i ro i ro | various |
| はい | ha i | yes (agreeable) |
| えいが | e i ga | movie |
| おいしい | o i shi i | delicious |
Sentences Exercise with the Pronunciation [i] い
Please repeat the following sentences after the tutor in the video.
| Japanese Sentences | English Translations |
|---|---|
| 今から家に行きます。 | From now I’ll go to the house. |
| お兄さんと映画に行きました。 | I went to a movie with my older brother. |
| この時計はいくらですか？ | How much is this watch? |
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Tongue Twister Exercise with the Pronunciation [i] い
Please repeat the following tongue twisters after the tutor on the video. Also, please focus on the pronunciation practice, not the meaning, because they were made only for the sake of practice.
| Japanese Tongue Twisters | Vocabulary |
|---|---|
|
「相合傘でもいいですか」 なんていちいち言わなくてもいいじゃない。 |
相合傘: sharing the same umbrella, いちいち: every time (*negative meaning) |
|
石井さんがいちいち異論を挟むので、居合わせた人はいい気持ちではなかった。 |
石井さん: person’s name, 異論: different opinion, 挟む: to put in, 居合わせる: to happen to be at~ |
|
やいやい言われ、いやいやながら、いよいよ家を用意した。 |
いやいや: unwillingly, いよいよ: at last, 用意する: to prepare |
Conclusion
This is the how to pronounce [i] い. We recommend that you practice the sentences above at least 5 times for each exercise, though we understand that pronunciation practice can be dull. Good pronunciation will give you listening and speaking ability, and thereby you will be confident enough to speak Japanese with native speakers. Thus, the ability you gain is well worth the time spent. We are looking forward to seeing you in the next lesson [u] う.
Recommended Links
How to Proceed with Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons
How to Proceed with Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons
Japanese Vowels: How to Pronounce う
