Martial Arts: Counting from 1 to 10 in Japanese

Martial Arts Blog #1: Counting from 1 to 10 in Japanese

 1  is pronounced Ichi (eechii as in cheese)

2 is pronounced Ni (as in see, or Nidan)

3 is pronounced as San ( saan as in  Sandia or Sandan)

4 is pronounced as Shi (shee as in Shido)

5 is pronounced as Go (as in God, or Godan). This should not sound like the English     verb to go!

6 is pronounced Roku (Rookuu as in Rokudan)

7 is pronounced Shichi (Sheechee, as in Shichidan)

8 is pronounced Hachi (as in Haachee, or Hachidan)

9 is pronounced Ku (as in cuckoo, or Kudan)

10 is pronounced Ju (as in cuckoo, or Jew, or Judan)

IMPORTANT NOTE

Pronouncing Japanese terms is actually quite easy so long as you understand how five key vowels are pronounced. These are:

  1. a (aaa), 2. e (eee as in desk), 3. i (iii as in dish), 4. o (as in God or Godan), 5. u ( uuu as in do). We also have a special case when the letter y is involved, which is pronounced as an iii sound, as in sheep or knee. A Japanese example is the term Ryu (system, stream) which is pronounced as Riii-uu (long), NOT Roo.

Finally, please consult the video above to actually hear the terms being pronounced correctly.

To come in Blog #2: Commonly Mispronounced Japanese Martial Arts Terms

Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., 8th Dan Jujutsu/6th Dan Judo. Chair, Traditional Jujutsu Committee of the USJJF and Director, Institute of Traditional Martial Arts at UNM

 

 

 

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Author: andrewyiannakis

Andrew Yiannakis, Ph.D., is currently a Research Professor at the University of New Mexico (USA). He is also Professor Emeritus from the University of Connecticut where he taught the Sociology of Leisure, Tourism & Sport, as well as Research Methods and Computer Applications. He also holds the rank of 8th Dan in Traditional Jujutsu and a 6th Dan in Traditional Kodokan Judo. He is the Director of the Institute of Traditional Martial Arts at the University of New Mexico. He is also the Chair of the Traditional Jujutsu Committee of the USJJF. As an amateur historian, he has led several expeditions to Greece to conduct research at Thermopylae, and locate the path the Persians used in 480 BC to encircle, and defeat King Leonidas and the Greek allies. Prof. Yiannakis has published extensively in a number of areas.

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