音おん韻いん

noun

phoneme

Linguistics term for the smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning. Often contrasted with 音素 (also 'phoneme'), but 音韻 is more traditional and may appear in compound terms like 音韻論 (phonology).

See also: 音素

• 日本にほん語ごの音おん韻いん体たい系けいは比ひ較かく的てき単たん純じゅんだ。

  The phoneme system of Japanese is relatively simple.

noun

vocal sound; tone quality; timbre

Refers to the auditory quality or character of a voice or instrument, not a linguistic unit. Can describe the timbre, resonance, or tonal color of a sound.

• 彼かれの声こえは独どく特とくの音おん韻いんを持もっている。

  His voice has a unique timbre.

noun

initial and final (Chinese syllable structure)

Technical term in Chinese phonology referring to the initial consonant and the final (rest of the syllable). Rarely used outside academic contexts.

• 中ちゅう国ごく語ごの音おん韻いんは、声せい母ぼと韻いん母ぼに分わけられる。

  Chinese syllable structure is divided into initials and finals.