Free Japanese Accent Generator

How it works

1. Type or paste your text in English. Free clips are up to 500 characters.
2. Japanese is already selected with the female voice Nanami. Keita is the male voice. Both read your English with a Japanese accent.
3. Press generate, listen, and download the MP3. If a word comes out strangely, try a simpler spelling.

How the Japanese accent works

The voice is a native Japanese speaker voice reading your English text, so it sounds like English spoken with a Japanese accent. There is no extra accent effect. Results vary by word: some words sound almost native, others are read with Japanese rhythm and vowels, and some rare words or names may be read oddly.

Nanami and Keita are the two native Japanese voices. Keep your text in English letters; if you type Japanese (kana or kanji), you get normal Japanese speech.

Common features of a Japanese accent in English

Japanese has five vowels, a simple syllable pattern and a tapped "r". Many Japanese speakers of English show some of these features:

• "R" and "l" are often said with the same tapped sound, so "light" and "right" can sound close.
• A small vowel can be added after consonants, as in "desk" sounding like "desuku" in strong accents.
• The "v" can become a "b" sound, and "th" can become "s" or "z".
• Each syllable gets a similar length, so the rhythm sounds more even than native English.
• Vowels like those in "cat", "cut" and "cart" can sound alike, because Japanese has fewer vowel sounds.

Ideas for a Japanese accent voice

• Game and animation characters such as a shop keeper, a travel guide or a robot inventor.
• Travel videos about Japan with English narration.
• Language lessons that show which English sounds are hard for Japanese learners.
• Practice for actors who need to hear a line before they perform it.

Tips for a clearer Japanese accent read

• Words with "r" and "l" close together, such as "really", "rely" and "library", show the accent well.
• Words ending in a consonant, like "desk", "milk" and "book", let you hear the soft vowel that a Japanese accent can add.
• Polite, calm phrasing suits a guide or an announcer. Short, excited lines suit a game shop keeper or a host.
• Write long numbers as words so the voice reads them as English, for example "two hundred gold".
• Try Keita for a lower, steady read and Nanami for a bright, friendly one.

What it does and does not do

• It reads English text in a native Japanese voice and gives you an MP3. You can change speed and pitch in the extra options.
• It does not copy any anime, game or film character, or any real voice actor.
• It does not change the accent of your own recording, and it does not translate your text.
• It does not add echo, music or effects. Add those in your video editor.

Frequently asked questions