Japanese long vowels: hold for two beats
A long vowel keeps the same sound for two beats. Cut it short and ビール (beer) becomes ビル (building).
How long vowels are spelled
| Spelling | Example | Beats |
|---|---|---|
| あ＋あ | おばあさん |
|
| い＋い | おじいさん |
|
| う＋う | ゆうき |
|
| え＋い / え＋え | せんせい |
|
| お＋う / お＋お | とうきょう |
|
| ー | ビール |
|
How to say it
Say ビル, then stretch the vowel one beat longer: ビール.
Keep the sound smooth, with no break in the middle.
Keep the vowel the same; only the length changes.
Common mistakes for English speakers
Shortening unstressed long vowels
The second ー in コンピューター often disappears. Give every ー a full beat.
Lengthening stressed short vowels
A stressed ビル can sound like ビール. Keep short vowels short.
In the pronunciation test
Prompts compare your recording with the short version, e.g. ビール vs ビル.
Take the free pronunciation testListen and practice
Each set differs by one beat or sound. Listen, then practice.
Audio uses a generated reference voice.