Common Mistakes Spanish Speakers Make when Speaking Japanese

2025/10/19

At Nihongo Online School, we work every day with Spanish-speaking learners who already know some grammar and vocabulary but feel blocked when they try to speak. The good news is that most issues come from a predictable set of habits carried over from Spanish—things like stressing syllables instead of counting moras, shortening long vowels, or using Spanish-style intonation. In this guide we’ve gathered the most common mistakes Spanish speakers make when speaking Japanese, plus classroom-tested fixes you can start using immediately. Think of it as a friendly checklist you can bring to your next study session: practice the timing, polish the problem sounds, tidy up the particles, and choose the right register. Do this consistently and your Japanese will sound clearer, more natural, and far easier to understand.

1) Particles and “small words”: clear form, correct function

Even with good sounds, Spanish speakers stumble on particles because we try to map them to Spanish prepositions or subject markers. Learn their jobs and pronounce them the way Japanese does—even when writing suggests otherwise.

は is pronounced “wa”; を is “o”; へ is “e”

Beginners often read particles literally: は (ha) instead of wa, を (wo) with w, or へ (he) as he. In speech, say wa, o, and e respectively. This matters for naturalness and for being understood at conversational speed. Read aloud fixed phrases like これは… (kore wa…), 〜をください (… o kudasai), and へ行く (e iku) until your mouth picks the spoken forms automatically, even when your eyes see the historical spelling.

Mixing up は and が (topic vs. subject)

A Spanish mind wants a one-to-one “subject” marker, so we overuse が or use は everywhere. Quick rule of thumb: は sets a topic/background, while が highlights a new/contrasted subject or answers “who/what did it.” Saying 私は学生です is fine to set context; answering だれが来ますか with 田中さんが来ます spotlights Tanaka. Practice with minimal pairs that flip nuance, and you’ll hear why natives switch between them.

に vs で for location and time

Spanish often uses one preposition for “in/at,” so に and で blur together. Use に for existence/arrival/time targets (駅にいる, 3時に), and で for the location of an action (駅で待つ). If you say 学校に勉強します, it sounds off; the action studying happens at school → 学校で勉強します. Shadow short dialogues focusing only on these slots to build a reflex you can trust in real conversations.

2) Register, pitch, and loanwords: sounding natural in context

Speaking well isn’t only sounds and particles; it’s also choosing the right level of politeness, keeping pitch patterns stable, and pronouncing loanwords in katakana-style rather than Spanish.

Politeness mixing: plain forms with です/ます

Spanish doesn’t have a です/ます system, so we casually mix registers: 行くです or しますけど行かない in the same breath. In Japanese, pick a lane and stay consistent within a context: either polite (です/ます) or plain. With friends: 行く？ 行かない。 With customers or teachers: 行きます。行きません。 Keep a mental switch: before you speak, ask “polite or plain?” and lock it in for the whole exchange unless you intentionally shift.

Pitch accent and Spanish-style stress

Spanish ears hunt for a stressed syllable; Japanese uses pitch accent and relatively flat loudness. Over-stressing makes words sound foreign even when segments are correct. Practice minimal pitch patterns (e.g., あめ “rain” vs あめ “candy” in context) and keep volume steady. When reading sentences, imagine a gentle melody rather than a drumbeat; your timing (moras) stays steady while pitch moves lightly.

Katakana words aren’t Spanish with a twist

Loanwords tempt us to pronounce them as in Spanish: バス (basu) becomes “bas,” ホテル (hoteru) becomes “hotel.” In Japanese, katakana adds vowel support after many consonants and may shift syllable shapes: ストレス (sutoresu), アルバイト (arubaito), コンビニ (konbini). Read them as written in kana, not as their Spanish equivalents, and you’ll match native timing and rhythm, especially at natural speed.

3) Timing over stress: moras, long vowels, and double consonants

Spanish relies on stress; Japanese relies on time. When Spanish speakers carry our stress habits into Japanese, words get compressed, long vowels vanish, and small pauses disappear. If you want your speech to sound natural, train your ear and tongue to feel mora timing: each kana (including ん and small っ) counts as one beat, and long vowels count as two.

Long vowels that change meaning (おばあさん vs おばさん)

A classic error is shortening long vowels because Spanish rarely contrasts meaning through length. In Japanese, おばあさん (obāsan) “grandmother” and おばさん (obasan) “aunt/ma’am” differ mainly by that extra あ. Many learners say obasan for both, creating confusion. The fix is mechanical and musical: speak in beats. Clap or tap as you say o-ba-a-san and feel that the long ā occupies two beats—not louder, just longer. Record yourself and check waveforms: the long vowel should visibly last longer than a short one.

The small っ that you can’t skip (きって vs きて)

Spanish speakers often skip the small っ (sokuon) because we don’t have consonant gemination. Yet きって (kitte) “stamp” and きて (kite) “come (imperative)” are different words. If you say kite when you need kitte, you’ve changed meaning. Train the micro-pause before the doubled consonant: ki—tte with a tiny hold where the air stops and the tongue is ready for t. Start with exaggerated pauses, then shrink them to a crisp click that the ear still notices.

Counting moras, not syllables (ん and ー also take time)

Two more timing traps are ん and the long-vowel mark ー (in katakana). Spanish speakers often swallow ん or rush through ー as if it were mere spelling. But both are time units. In しんぶん (shinbun), the ん is its own beat; if you skip it, rhythm collapses into shibun. In ゲーム (gēmu), the ー makes ge long; without it, you get gemu with a different feel. Practice with a slow metronome (60–70 BPM), giving each mora—including ん and ー—its rightful beat.

4) Sound shape: taps, fricatives, and tricky clusters

Beyond timing, Spanish speakers struggle with a handful of articulations that don’t map cleanly to Spanish. Fixing these is less about force and more about precision: short, light gestures placed at the right time.

The Japanese /r/ tap and the rya-ryu-ryo clusters

Japanese /r/ is a single, quick tap (like the Spanish cara r, but even shorter). Learners often roll it (carro) or turn it into l. Keep it tiny: a tap, not a trill. Now add the challenge of りゃ/りゅ/りょ (rya/ryu/ryo), where the tongue prepares the tap while the lips shape ya/yu/yo. Break words like りょうり (ryōri) into beats: ryō-ri. Practice rya/ryu/ryo slowly, then slip them into full words without inserting extra vowels like ri-yo.

shi/chi/ji and small ya/yu/yo: smoother, not stronger

Spanish ch is explosive; Japanese ち (chi) is gentler. We also tend to slide じ (ji) toward a wide “y”. Keep the release soft and the path short. In ちょっと (chotto), two things matter: the small っ pause and a non-explosive cho. In じんじゃ (jinja), aim for a voiced fricative between Spanish y and English j, plus a clear n before ja so it doesn’t turn into yinya. Small ゃゅょ should feel like compact glides, not full syllables.

tsu and fu without Spanish shortcuts

つ (tsu) often becomes su and ふ (fu ≈ [ɸɯ]) becomes a Spanish fu with heavy friction. For tsu, coordinate a very brief t into s—one blended gesture, t-su, not two syllables. For ふ, bring the lower lip near the upper teeth without pressing; let a soft breath pass while shaping a tight /ɯ/ (a close, unrounded “u”). Words like つくえ (tsukue) and ふじさん (Fujisan) immediately sound cleaner once these micro-gestures become automatic.

Kick-off your Japanese Studies with Nihongo Online School

Most speaking problems for Spanish learners boil down to timing (moras, long vowels, and small っ), a handful of sound shapes (/r/, shi/chi/ji, tsu/fu), a clear grasp of particles, and consistent register and pitch. None of this requires talent—just deliberate practice with the right feedback. If you want personalized drills, live correction, and materials designed for Spanish speakers, enroll online at Nihongo Online School. Our Japanese teachers also speak Spanish and English, and we tailor every lesson to your level, goals, and schedule. Start polishing your pronunciation and fluency today—we’ll meet you where you are and get you speaking with confidence.