Content

• Steps
• Part 1 of 6: Oneesama - Big Sister (very polite speech)
• Part 2 of 6: Oneesan and Neesan - Big Sister (polite speech)
• Part 3 of 6: Oneechan and Neechan - Big Sis (Informal Speech)
• Part 4 of 6: Ane the Big Sister
• Part 5 of 6: Aneki the Little Sister (Informal Speech)
• Part 6 of 6: Imouto is the little sister

Japanese is quite difficult and not easy for native speakers of other language families to learn. Getting the pronunciation right can seem like a daunting task, but breaking down the words into smaller segments makes things easier.In this article, you will see how you can learn how to pronounce all the words for sister in Japanese, piece by piece.

Steps

1. 1 Learn the different forms of the Japanese word for sister. Each word is described in a separate part of the article.

Part 1 of 6: Oneesama - Big Sister (very polite speech)

1. 1 “Oneesama” (translated as “elder sister”) is the most respectful address to an older sister. However, this word is not often used in everyday life. Perhaps if you apologize for some very serious offense to your sister, you want to show her deep respect, and if you are just an extremely polite person in any situation, you will use this word.
2. 2 Break the word apart. There are some elements here that are worth knowing. In Japanese, nominal suffixes (suffixes denoting status and respect for a person) are very important. It will be better if you learn to understand them.
   • “O-” - this prefix indicates respect for a person or object. In other words for sister, this prefix can be omitted, but if you do the same with the word "oneesama" because ...
   • “-Sama” is already the most respectful name suffix in modern Japanese. This suffix emphasizes that the speaker has a lower status in relation to the person in question. An approximate analogue in Russian is the words "lord (s)", "honorable (s)" (can be used in relation to women and men).
   • If you omit the “o-” prefix and leave the “-sama”, the phrase will sound like: “His Highness, my best friend”.
   • “Ne” or “nee” can be found in any Japanese word for an older sister.
3. 3 The sound "o" must be pronounced distinctly, as in Russian in words with the stressed position of this vowel. Please note that vowel sounds are never weakened in Japanese (for example, in Russian, the sound "o" is pronounced as "a" in an unstressed position in the word "water", which would not happen in Japanese).
4. 4 With the “-nee-” part of the word, it’s not so simple. At first, you might instinctively want to soften the “n” sound in front of the vowel and pronounce the “e” like in the word “sky”, but you can't. You need to pronounce "e" clearly, like the "e" in the word "electrician". Note that “nee” is actually two syllables. It is unusual for a Russian-speaking person to speak like that, but you have to say the sound “e” as if twice. Try to pronounce these two syllables so that for each "e" sound you have to clap your palms, slowly at first, to get the idea.
5. 5 The “-sama” suffix is ​​much easier. Chances are, you've already pronounced it correctly in your head. Each syllable must be pronounced clearly, without swallowing the vowels: "sa-ma".
6. 6 Now combine all the parts of the word into one. Japanese uses minimal intonation, so try not to emphasize any syllables. You should sound monotonous.

Part 2 of 6: Oneesan and Neesan - Big Sister (polite speech)

1. 1 Break these two words apart.
   • “Oneesan” is more polite due to the “o-” prefix.
   • The suffix “-san” also indicates respect for a person. It should be used in relation to people of your equal social status or someone whom you do not know very well.
2. 2 Pronounce “o-” and “-nee-” in the same way as above.
3. 3 Say the syllable “sa”. The syllable “-sa-” in the “-san” suffix is ​​pronounced the same as in the “-sama” suffix. This is what is really great about Japanese: the sounds are pronounced the same and do not alternate in different words or word forms, there are very few exceptions. The sound "n" in Japanese is pronounced in the same way as in Russian.
4. 4 Pronounce the entire word.

Part 3 of 6: Oneechan and Neechan - Big Sis (Informal Speech)

1. 1 Break these words apart.
   • “-Chan” is a nominal suffix that is almost always used only when talking about a female person.It is an informal, friendly and even affectionate suffix that can be used when talking to a small child or when a schoolgirl talks about her good friends.
   • The respectful “o-” prefix together with the friendly “-chan” suffix creates the impression of deep sympathy for the interlocutor.
2. 2 Pronounce the entire word. “O-”, “-nee-”, “n” and “a” are pronounced the same as described above. The combination of letters “ch” is pronounced like the Russian consonant “ch”.
3. 3 Say the word.

Part 4 of 6: Ane the Big Sister

1. 1 Check out another word for big sister. With this word, things are a little different: above we studied the words that are used when you address your sister, and “Ane” should be used when you talk about your sister.
   • Note that there is also a “-ne-” part here, which is common to words for an older sister.
2. 2 The pronunciation of sounds is the same as mentioned above.

Part 5 of 6: Aneki the Little Sister (Informal Speech)

1. 1 This form is only used in very informal communication. It's also a slang word for a member of your street gang, but more on that another time.
   • “Ane” is pronounced as mentioned above.
   • “Ki” sounds exactly like the syllable “ki” in the word “jelly”. Do not stretch the “and” sound.
2. 2 Now say the whole word “aneki”.

Part 6 of 6: Imouto is the little sister

1. 1 "Imouto" is used when referring to a younger sister. Usually brothers and sisters refer to the younger ones by their first name, so there is no particular need for this word.
   • Do not add the nominal suffixes “-chan” or “-kun” at the end. They say this only if they want to be rude or belittle their little sister.
   • Add the suffix “-san” when referring to someone's little sister.
   • The combination of letters “-ou-” means that you need to double the sound “o”, as we already said about the sound “e” in “nee”.
   • The sounds “and” and “about” are pronounced as mentioned above. The sounds "m" and "t" are pronounced in the same way as in Russian.
2. 2 Now say the entire word.