By knowing the real pronunciation, you will be able to impress your Japanese relatives, colleagues or friends at your next dinner party.
By repeating certain words in the same way, we end up believing that we are pronouncing them correctly, without ever suspecting that we are wrong. This habit anchors a false pronunciation in our mind, to the point that it seems natural. However, just because a word is often mispronounced around us does not mean that it is the right way to say it. These small errors sometimes go unnoticed, but they can be surprising when you discover the correct pronunciation, especially when dealing with native speakers or linguistic experts.
This is precisely the case with two Japanese words that most people use, especially when eating certain dishes typical of Japanese cuisine. These are the words “wasabi” and “miso”. For those who are unfamiliar with these products, wasabi is a condiment made from wasabia japonica root, a mix between the taste of horseradish and mustard. It is appreciated for its spicy flavor and freshness, which goes wonderfully with sushi and sashimi. As for miso, it is a fermented paste made from soybeans, rice or barley, lightly salted, which is used to season soups, marinades or sauces.
Usually, we pronounce these two words with a [z]because in French when there is the letter “s” between two vowels, we must normally state the sound [z]. Except that in Japanese this rule does not apply. The words “wasabi” and “miso” must be pronounced with the sound [s]as if there were two “ss” in “wassabi” and “misso”.
These two errors are common, but they are not the only ones. Many Japanese dishes are often mispronounced. For example, there is also the word “mochi”. We tend to pronounce the word as such, emphasizing the sound [ch]and yet, if we want to respect the real Japanese pronunciation, we must say “mo-tchi”, in other words add the letter “t” to the sound [ch].