清音(せいおん)

A phonetics term composed of 清(せい) (clear, pure) and 音(おん) (sound). The name means 'clear/pure sounds' — referring to the basic kana without any voicing marks.

The kana system

Japanese kana fall into three phonetic categories:

• 清音(せいおん): voiceless/clear sounds — the basic unmarked kana (あ, か, さ, た, な, は, ま, や, ら, わ rows)
• 濁音(だくおん): voiced sounds — marked with 濁点(だくてん) (゛): が, ざ, だ, ば
• 半濁音(はんだくおん): semi-voiced sounds — marked with 半濁点(はんだくてん) (゜): ぱ, ぴ, ぷ, ぺ, ぽ

Common collocations

• 清音(せいおん)と濁音(だくおん): voiceless and voiced sounds (a common pair)
• 清音(せいおん)の発音(はつおん): pronunciation of voiceless sounds
• 五十音(ごじゅうおん)の清音(せいおん): the voiceless sounds of the fifty-sounds chart

Similar words

• 濁音(だくおん): voiced sounds — g, z, d, b sounds marked with 濁点(だくてん) (゛)
• 半濁音(はんだくおん): semi-voiced sounds — the p-sounds marked with 半濁点(はんだくてん) (゜)
• 撥音(はつおん): the nasal sound 'n' (ん)

Usage

Not to be confused with the homophone 静音(せいおん) (quiet sound, silent operation), which uses different kanji.