Tokyo in Japanese is 東京： How to Read and Write places in Japan
Tokio is one of the most famous Japanese boy bands in Japan. They were formed in 1994 and for years have been a staple of Japanese television. The current members of the band are Shigeru Joushima, Taichi ko… oh wait, are we talking about the capital of Japan?
All joking aside, Tokyo in Japanese is pronounced a little different in Japanese. If you say it like the band name, Tokio nobody will be confused so it does not really matter. But, if you are interested in learning how to say famous places in Japan like the original language though, keep reading.
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Tokyo in Japanese
Alright so first Tokyo. English speakers say the capital of Japan as three syllable, to-ki-o or to-ki-yo. In Japanese though you pronounce Tokyo as two syllables, to-kyo . Also, the two ‘o’s in Japanese are both long vowels. This is important since Japanese distinguishes between short and long vowels.
https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/
東京 is how you write Tokyo in Japanese. It is a combination of two characters. The first one, 東 means east and 京 means capital. Tokyo is the new capital of Japan and is in the east contrasting it with its old capital in the west.
Kyoto in Japanese
That is right, the old capital is Kyoto. Fittingly, Kyoto pretty much means capital. You write it as 京都 which has the same 京 which is in Tokyo and another character, 都 which means capital also. Kyoto is also two syllables like Tokyo but the two ‘o’s are different lengths. The first one long and the second one short. So you can write it as Kyōto to be more specific.
Osaka in Japanese
Osaka is the focal city of western Japan and is south of Kyoto. It is has a unique local culture, food, and other attractions. It is written in Japanese as 大阪 and pronounced Ōsaka.
If you are interesting in Japanese I have more on how Japanese is spoken. Also, I have reviewed what I consider the best resource for Japanese Grammar below if you are serious about improving your Japanese:
Resources
Audio – Forvo
