Today’s Kanji – Sound 音 (Oto) – Learn Japanese

The kanji for the sound 音 (oto) in its most common Japanese pronunciation has several pronunciations:

–オン (on) : Used when the kanji 音 is used as a suffix or a component in compound words. For example, 音楽 (ongaku) ​​means “music” and is pronounced “on-ga-ku”.

–ネ (ne): This pronunciation is used on specific compound words. For example, 音声 (onsei) means “voice” and is pronounced “ne-se-i”.

–イン (in) : This pronunciation is used for words of foreign origin that have been incorporated into Japanese and contain the kanji 音. For example, テレビ音声 (terebi onsei) means “television audio” and is pronounced “te-re-bi in-se-i”.

–おと (oto) is used when the kanji 音 is used in isolation or as part of some specific words. For example, 音 (oto) can mean “sound” as a separate word. It is also used in words like 音色 (otoshoku), which means “timbre” or “tone”.

The kanji 音 is made up of two parts: the radical 立 (stop) at the top and the bottom part representing a modified square (日). In its original form, the lower part represented a mouth (口) with a needle placed across it, which together with the upper kanji (立 stop) meant “the needle that stops speech, therefore there is only sound”.

Here are some examples of Japanese words that use the kanji 音 (oto):

–音楽 (おんがく, ongaku) ​​: music

–音声 (おんせい, onsei) : sound, voice

–音響 (おんきょう, onkyō) : acoustic

–音量 (おんりょう, onryō) : sound volume

–音色 (ねいろ, neiro ): timbre, tone

–音読み (おんよみ, onyomi) : Chinese reading of a kanji

–音符 (おんぷ, onpu) : musical note

–音響効果 (おんきょうこうか, onkyō kōka) : sound effect

–音速 (おんそく, onsoku) : speed of sound

–音楽家 (おんがくか, ongakuka) : musician