7 common English mistakes often made by Japanese speakers

The letters “e” and “i” are particularly easy to confuse. For example, the “e” in “event” is pronounced closer to “i,” and the “re” in “reserved” may sound like “ri.” In katakana, these are written as “イベント” and “リザーブ,” which can further contribute to confusion. Similarly, “digital” is pronounced closer to “ディジタル,” yet it is commonly written as “デジタル” in katakana. Writing based solely on katakana pronunciation can therefore lead to mistakes. Since katakana pronunciation sometimes aligns with English and sometimes does not, it is important to remain mindful of these differences.

The “v” sound does not naturally exist in Japanese. When written in katakana, it is often represented as either “ヴ” or “ブ.” However, when converting into the Roman alphabet, writing “ブ” as “b” can result in spelling mistakes. Care should be taken to correctly distinguish between “b” and “v.”

The consonants “l” and “r” do not exist distinctly in Japanese. Instead, they are both approximated by the “ra-row” sounds (ら行), which often makes it difficult for Japanese speakers to distinguish between them. As a result, confusion between “l” and “r” frequently leads to spelling mistakes.

This type of mistake is similar to the first example. Although the actual English pronunciation may seem close to the katakana representation, the spelling itself differs. Relying solely on katakana pronunciation can therefore easily lead to errors.

This type of mistake is similar to the first example. Although the actual English pronunciation may appear close to the katakana representation, the spelling itself differs. Relying solely on katakana pronunciation can therefore lead to errors.

In romanized Japanese, the sound “ん” may be represented as either “n” or “m” depending on the context. This can lead to confusion when writing English words, causing frequent mix-ups between “n” and “m” and resulting in spelling mistakes.

This type of mistake is similar to the first example. Although the actual English pronunciation may seem close to the katakana representation, the spelling itself differs. Relying solely on katakana pronunciation can therefore lead to errors.