The Most Difficult to Pronounce Word in Japanese
Tuesday August 29, 2006Generally I would not consider Japanese pronunciation difficult, but the odd word can be tricky. The hardest one I’ve come across so far is 雰囲気 (ふんいき), meaning “atmosphere, air, mood”. This word demonstrates the nasal ん at its best. Get a Japanese person to say this word for you if you aren’t familiar with it already!
As a complete aside, I read this thought-provoking comment in an article at Canadian Business Online:
Although many of us are daunted by the thought of trying to master a new tongue, the average Canadian could acquire one every year in the time he now spends watching television.
Well, make that “every two years” for non-Indo-European languages like Japanese. But still, mastering any language or many languages is easily within reach for most Westerners, who typically waste hundreds of hours a year pointing their glazed eyes at the idiot box.
(Of course, one must make allowances for exceptional shows like Lost and Battlestar Galactica.)
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