How is a constant followed by the “o” sound with an “u” pronounced example is いもうと?

7 comments

1. Can’t say it’s a general rule, but in this case you definitely prolong the o sound, like “imooto”

2. Long O. Think of every syllable – or mora – in Japanese like the consistent beat of a song. OU is O held for two beats. EI is E held for two beats. SHII holds that final I for two beats.

3. At least as far as I know おう always turns into オー, except if the う is a verb ending (so 思う is オモウ and not オモー) or if the お and う belong to different morphemes, for example 黄麻 is オーマ, but お馬 is オウマ with a distinct オ and ウ

   いもうと used to be two different morphemes いも（妹）+ ひと→うと（人）but it merged a long time ago, so now it’s pronounced with a long オー rather than オウ

4. At a beginner level, I would learn it as おう = オー / ou is a long o.

   This is not entirely true, but it will get you far at first. The main place where you would pronounce them separately is verb endings, eg おもう (to think) is /o.mo.u/ rather than /o.moo/.

   いもうと is /imooto/

5. I mean, literally just say o and u. It ends up sounding like o anyway.

   There aren’t really many tricks in Japanese. What you see is what you say for the most part.

6. This is not something I have read anywhere, it is just a personal observation after having lived in Japan for a year:
   The o sound is lengthened slightly but the more important thing is that it tends to put emphasis on that syllable. I guess the two things kind of go hand in hand. But if you put emphasis on the syllable with the lengthened o sound, it should sound about right.

7. So every mora is pronounced. It just so happens that “o” and “u” kind of flow together so when you’re speaking at a normal pace it just sounds like an elongated “o” sound.

   If you say “いもうと” slowly it’s “i-mo-u-to” but again at a normal pace it sounds like “i-mo-o-to”

   It’s good practice to start by pronouncing the words slowly to make sure you’re pronouncing each mora and then once you speed it up you’ll sound more natural.