Japanese Consonants: How to Pronounce さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ

Japanese Consonants s, z

Description of the Japanese Pronunciation さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ

さ・す・せ・そ and ざ・ず・ぜ・ぞ consist of the Japanese consonants [s] and [z], together with the Japanese vowels, [a], [u], [e] and [o] respectively. When you pronounce [s] and [z], you are going to make a chink between your upper gums and the tip of your tongue. Then, you will pronounce them by causing friction as the air passes through the chink. [s] is an unvoiced sound and [z] is a voiced sound.


Does it make sense to you? Let's try to pronounce さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ after the tutor on the video!

Wasabi Japanese Pronunciation Lessons

Words Exercise with the Pronunciation [s] [z] さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ

Please repeat the following words after the tutor on the video.

Words Roman Letters Meanings
咲さく sa ku to bloom
さむい sa mu i cold
はいざら ha i za ra ashtray
すこし su ko shi a little
すわる su wa ru to sit down
みず mi zu water
せんせい se n se i teacher
風かぜ ka ze wind
そこ so ko there
かぞく ka zo ku family

Sentences Exercise with the Pronunciation [s] [z] さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ

Please repeat the following sentences after the tutor in the video.

Japanese Sentences English Translations
そこに座すわります。 I will sit down there.
先月せんげつは少すこし寒さむかった。 It was a little cold last month.
桜さくらが咲さいた。 The cherry blossoms bloomed.

Tongue Twister Exercise with the Pronunciation [s] [z] さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ

Please repeat the following tongue twisters after the tutor on the video. Also, please focus on the pronunciation practice, not the meaning, because they were made only for the sake of practice.

Japanese Tongue Twisters Vocabulary

すっぱいスイカは好すきずきだろうさ、すっぱいスイカは好ずきずきだろうさ。

すっぱい: sour, スイカ: watermelon, 好すきずき: matter of taste

静しずかで涼すずしい空そらが僧そうをそぞろにさせる。

静しずか: calm, 涼すずしい: cool, 空そら: sky, 僧そう: priest

禅宗ぜんそうの坊ぼう主ずが全然ぜんぜん座ざ禅ぜんを上じょう手ずに組くめない。

禅宗ぜんそう: school of Mahayana Buddhism, 坊ぼう主ず: Buddhist priest, 全然ぜんぜん: (not) at all, 座ざ禅ぜん: meditation in Zen Buddhism

Conclusion

This is the how to pronounce [s] [z] さ す せ そ、ざ ず ぜ ぞ. We recommend that you practice the sentences above at least 5 times for each exercise, though we understand that pronunciation practice can be dull. Good pronunciation will give you listening and speaking ability, and thereby you will be confident enough to speak Japanese with native speakers. Thus, the ability you gain is well worth the time spent. We are looking forward to seeing you in the next lesson; [ɕ] [ʑ] し、じ.

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