Mistake #4 - The Harsh F Sound

ふ / フ / fu

I hear people messing up the "F" sound in ふ (fu) quite frequently.

Us native English speakers tend to overdo this sound in Japanese. We learn that "Mt. Fuji" is "Fuji-san" in Japanese. So, you know, we start saying "Fuji-san." And when we make that "F" sound, our top teeth scrape across the top of our lower lips.

I mean, that's how you make an "F" sound, yeah?

Not in Japanese.

You can just ever so slightly touch your lower lip with your top teeth, but there should be no scraping or pressing down onto your lip. As a result, when you hear Japanese people say "Fuji-san," a lot of times it will sound more like "Huji-san." Let's imitate them!