子音(しいん)

しいん
noun
consonant
education
1. consonant
A speech sound produced by partially or fully obstructing airflow, as opposed to a vowel. In Japanese linguistics, consonants combine with vowels to form syllables in the kana system.
「k」は子音(しいん)だ。
"k" is a consonant.
日本語(にほんご)の子音(しいん)は英語(えいご)より少(すく)ない。
Japanese has fewer consonants than English.
子音(しいん)と母音(ぼいん)の組(く)み合(あ)わせで音節(おんせつ)ができる。
Syllables are formed by combining consonants and vowels.

子音(しいん) is the opposite of 母音(ぼいん) (vowel).

Common collocations

  • 子音(しいん)と母音(ぼいん) — consonants and vowels
  • 有声(ゆうせい)子音(しいん) — voiced consonant
  • 無声(むせい)子音(しいん) — voiceless consonant
  • 子音(しいん)連続(れんぞく) — consonant cluster

In Japanese phonology, most syllables consist of one 子音(しいん) followed by one 母音(ぼいん) (CV structure), with the notable exception of ん (the moraic nasal).

Related Words

Antonym: 母音(ぼいん) (vowel)
Compare: 摩擦音(まさつおん) (fricative (sound))
general
Added 2026.3.22 9:38 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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