Terminology

JAPANESE TERMS USED IN AIKIDO

PRONUNCIATION KEY

You can enjoy pronouncing (and understanding) the Japanese terms used in the dojo if you get off to a good start in learning the sounds.  The pronunciation of Japanese words is very simple.  Basically every sound used in Japanese is either one of the five Latin or Spanish vowels, or a syllable combing a consonant with such a vowel.  The only free standing consonant sound is the nasal letter "n".  The consonants of Japanese are generally pronounced as those of English accept for the legendary "R & L" problem.  The English "L" sound is much closer to the correct sound than our "R" so we recommend pronouncing an "L" when reading the letter "r" in the standard transliteration systems.  The vowels are pronounced as follows:

In the following list, an easy-to-follow but unorthodox pronunciation guide uses English sounds to help you get a feel for the proper pronunciation of Aikido technical jargon and other useful Japanese words.