Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
My new book☺️
amzn.to/4x2ZGUm
---------------
Want to sound more natural when you speak Japanese?
👉 Join the Speak Japanese Naturally Pronunciation Course:
sjn-fumi.link/ymd
Do you ever feel like this?
• You know grammar and vocabulary, but your Japanese doesn’t sound natural
• You’re often asked to repeat yourself
• Native speakers speak too fast
Many learners study Japanese for years, but never learn how Japanese actually sounds.
The missing pieces are often:
✔ pronunciation
✔ rhythm
✔ pitch accent
✔ natural flow
Practice real Japanese pronunciation with feedback and learn to speak more naturally.
✔ Beginners to advanced learners welcome
✔ Personal feedback included
✔ Cancel anytime
👉 Join here:
sjn-fumi.link/ymd
My new book☺️
amzn.to/4x2ZGUm
---------------
Want to sound more natural when you speak Japanese?
👉 Join the Speak Japanese Naturally Pronunciation Course:
sjn-fumi.link/ymd
Do you ever feel like this?
• You know grammar and vocabulary, but your Japanese doesn’t sound natural
• You’re often asked to repeat yourself
• Native speakers speak too fast
Many learners study Japanese for years, but never learn how Japanese actually sounds.
The missing pieces are often:
✔ pronunciation
✔ rhythm
✔ pitch accent
✔ natural flow
Practice real Japanese pronunciation with feedback and learn to speak more naturally.
✔ Beginners to advanced learners welcome
✔ Personal feedback included
✔ Cancel anytime
👉 Join here:
sjn-fumi.link/ymd










![きょうsounds very different from きょ
Mora is very important concept for natural rhythm.
You can learn about Japanese mora in my course along with pronunciation, rhythm, pitch accent, intonation.
https://www.speakjapanesenaturally.com/
A subscriber commented that his こうきょ, meaning Imperial Palace, was mistaken for とうきょう. I’m gonna guess what happened and tell you how you can prevent it.
I think he said こうきょ as こうきょう based on the romaji spelling Koukyo, with the accent of Tokyo in English. the o as [ou].
You might think きょ and きょう sound the same, but they don’t. They sound very different to Japanese people. Romaji can be confusing. It’s best to learn hiragana and katakana for clear pronunciation.
Another thing is the pronunciation of きょ. This is きょ, not きよ. So こうきょ and こうきよ sound very different as well.
Specifically, きょ is one mora, きよ is two mora and きょう is two mora.
One mora and two mora sound very different.
It’s best to learn about Japanese mora as well. きょうsounds very different from きょ](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/xg1pfNcTb0A/mqdefault.jpg)