How do I pronounce 疲れ

Question

I'm learning Japanese from (glossika), still very Beginner A1 Low (1.7%), so I want to know how to pronounce 疲れ.

I know it's つかれ=tsu ka re, but I hear it like (tu ka re), and that the full Sentence, 疲れました.

Answer 1

The 'tsu' sound is mostly pronounced as 'tsu', not 'tu'. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, this is written as [tsɯ] (see here).

• Description of how to make the sound: http://www.coelang.tufs.ac.jp/ja/en/pmod/practical/#:~:text=The%20tsu%20(%E3%81%A4)%20is%20a,back%20of%20your%20lower%20teeth

• Native speakers pronouncing 'tsu' - https://forvo.com/word/%E3%81%A4/#ja

Therefore, 疲れ is pronounced as 'tsukare' (つかれ). Again, listen to the native speakers saying the word here.

In some Japanese dialects, there is a slight devoicing of some 'tsu' sounds, which might make it sound like 'tu'. For example, Wikipedia lists the case of 'kutsu' being pronounced 'kutu' (described here), but I don't think this is common for the word 疲れ. Having said that, in the second example from Forvo above, the male voice does sound a little like 'tu'.