母音

• Reading: ぼいん
• Romaji: boin
• Kanji breakdown: 母 (bo) — mother; 音 (in) — sound
• Pronunciation: /bo.iɴ/

Meaning

Vowel; a speech sound produced without obstruction of the airflow.

A noun used in linguistics and language education. Japanese has five vowels (あ、い、う、え、お). The counterpart is 子音 (shiin, consonant). Commonly encountered in pronunciation guides, phonetics lessons, and language textbooks.

Examples

1. 日本語の母音はあ、い、う、え、おの五つだ。 Japanese has five vowels: a, i, u, e, and o.
2. 英語には日本語より多くの母音がある。 English has more vowels than Japanese.
3. 母音の発音を正確にすると聞き取りやすくなる。 Pronouncing vowels accurately makes you easier to understand.

Usage Guide

Context: linguistics, language learning, phonetics, education

Tone: academic

Origin & History

From Sino-Japanese 母 (bo, mother) + 音 (in, sound). Literally 'mother sound,' a calque of the Western linguistic concept where vowels are considered the foundational sounds of speech.

Cultural Context

Era: Modern

Generation: All ages

Social background: Educated