If you use the wrong kanji reading in spoken language, will a native Japanese speaker still understand you? E.g. imagine I walk into a cafe in Japan and ask for “o-sui wo kudasai” instead of “o-mizu wo kudasai”. Will they know what I mean?
They’d probably ask for a clarification, but the effect would be humorous in this case.
While people might be able to guess in your example based on the context, generally no, they won’t understand. It’s like pronouncing a completely different word.
It’s similar to using the Germanic reading for “2nd” (twond) even though only the Latin reading is used (second). Can be pretty difficult to understand because it’s not a thing one is used to hearing.
Generally no. If you think of Japanese-origin words as English and Chinese-origin words as Latin, it’s like asking “I would like aqua.” but even more confusing.
As a joke I like to pronounce 初耳(はつみみ) as しょみみ after a Vine user said it (kemio, i think?) and Japanese people always get confused if they aren’t already in on the joke.
Then there are the exceptions which are words that some Japanese themselves don’t know the ‘correct’ pronunciation like 早急(さっきゅう？•そうきゅう？), in which case both cases are usually understandable.
When I finally found a barber to my liking in Tokyo, I would usually request the medicated shampoo option 薬用シャンプー. I would say, “kusuri-you shampoo onegai shimasu.” the barber would politely confirm, “yaku-you shampoo desu ne.” I’d say yes and mentally kick myself for forgetting the correct way. It took about 4-5 visits and reminders for it to stick in my mind.
Good answers. Probably also add that using the kun reading instead of the on reading would usually be more likely to be understood than the other way around.
Japanese uses between 2 – 5 on readings for each kanji and they aren’t even interchangeable.
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おすい【汚水】noun
filthy water, sewage
They’d probably ask for a clarification, but the effect would be humorous in this case.
While people might be able to guess in your example based on the context, generally no, they won’t understand. It’s like pronouncing a completely different word.
It’s similar to using the Germanic reading for “2nd” (twond) even though only the Latin reading is used (second). Can be pretty difficult to understand because it’s not a thing one is used to hearing.
Generally no. If you think of Japanese-origin words as English and Chinese-origin words as Latin, it’s like asking “I would like aqua.” but even more confusing.
As a joke I like to pronounce 初耳(はつみみ) as しょみみ after a Vine user said it (kemio, i think?) and Japanese people always get confused if they aren’t already in on the joke.
Then there are the exceptions which are words that some Japanese themselves don’t know the ‘correct’ pronunciation like 早急(さっきゅう？•そうきゅう？), in which case both cases are usually understandable.
When I finally found a barber to my liking in Tokyo, I would usually request the medicated shampoo option 薬用シャンプー. I would say, “kusuri-you shampoo onegai shimasu.” the barber would politely confirm, “yaku-you shampoo desu ne.” I’d say yes and mentally kick myself for forgetting the correct way. It took about 4-5 visits and reminders for it to stick in my mind.
Good answers. Probably also add that using the kun reading instead of the on reading would usually be more likely to be understood than the other way around.
Japanese uses between 2 – 5 on readings for each kanji and they aren’t even interchangeable.