Japanese TTS tool
Japanese Text to Speech for Kanji, Kana, and Mixed-in English
Paste Japanese text exactly as you write it, choose a Japanese voice and download an MP3 with subtitles timed to the audio at 16 characters a line. The Japanese TTS is free to use, with no watermark and no sign-up to listen.
0 bytes · 0 credits
You can edit or delete these tags directly in your script.
Voice
SakuraJapanese · Female
Sakura · 1.00x · MP3
Make your own voice
The first voice sets pronunciation; the second only lends its character.
Primary voice
Sakura
Sets pronunciation and pacing.
Second voice
A fixed sample at your current mix and speed. No credits used.
Advanced settings
Output
0.5x1x2x
- Commercial use included on the free plan
- No watermark on any output
- Blend and preview voices without signing up
Voices for this page
Japanese TTS voices, female and male
Four female voices and one male voice, with our notes pointing them at lessons, walkthroughs and story excerpts. Play the samples free before you spend a credit.
What you get
What this Japanese voice generator handles
Japanese scripts mix three writing systems and, increasingly, English product names. Each of those is dealt with, and so are the readings.
Kanji, kana and numbers read in context
The engine chooses readings from the surrounding sentence, and dates, prices and other numbers are read out in Japanese rather than as digits.
Choosing a rarer reading
For a word with more than one reading, such as 生物 read as なまもの, wrap it in the Pronounce as tag and type the kana you want. The script keeps the kanji on screen and the voice reads your kana. Tidy up script can add these tags for you.
English words inside Japanese text
Product names, app menus and loanwords written in the Latin alphabet are read in place by the Japanese voice, with a Japanese accent, instead of being skipped.
How mixed scripts are rendered
The script is split by writing system: Japanese runs go through the Japanese reader, Latin runs through the English reader and the two are joined into one take by the same voice. The accent on the English is part of the character, the way a Japanese presenter would say it.
Pace for listeners and learners
Set the speed anywhere from 0.5 to 2 times. Half speed keeps the pitch natural, which makes it usable for shadowing and dictation practice.
Pause and emphasis tags
Japanese punctuation already produces natural pauses. For a longer gap, a pause tag sets the exact seconds of silence, and a slow tag reads a single phrase at a reduced rate for emphasis. Both stay visible in the script and can be removed with one click, and neither costs extra credits.
Subtitles
Japanese subtitles at 16 characters a line
Japanese subtitles need short lines and clean breaks at the particles. The SRT here is cut for that, and it comes out of the same render as the audio.
- SRT and WebVTT with every job, on the free plan included
- Lines capped at 16 characters, the usual width for Japanese captions
- Cues anchored to real pauses in the audio
- Edit a sentence, render again and the cues move with the audio
The worker finds the pauses in the finished audio and anchors each cue to them, so every line appears as it is spoken. Drop the SRT next to the MP3 in your editor at the same start point and the Japanese captions hold to the last line.
Generate with subtitles1 00:00:00,180 --> 00:00:03,240 今日は新しい機能を紹介します。 2 00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:06,900 設定画面を開いてください。 3 00:00:07,180 --> 00:00:10,400 右上のボタンを押すだけです。
Voice blends
Two Japanese voice blends with a different timbre
Both blends keep Sakura's clean kana reading and add Delaney's huskier character at two strengths. The first voice sets the pronunciation, so the Japanese stays correct.
Husky Japanese
Japanese reading, mostly husky timbre.
Sakura 20% + Delaney 80%
Husky Japanese · lighter
Even split, keeping Sakura's clean kana.
Sakura 50% + Delaney 50%
How voice blending works
The primary voice decides how every word is read and paced; the second voice only lends its timbre, at the percentage you set. The second voice can be from any language, which is how a Japanese reading gains an English voice's warmth without changing a syllable. Preview a blend at no cost, then save it in this browser.
How it works
How to convert Japanese text to speech, step by step
STEP 01Paste the Japanese text
Kanji, hiragana, katakana and any English in between all go in as they are. The generator shows the byte count and the exact credit cost before you submit.
STEP 02Pick a Japanese voice
Play the samples on the five cards, choose a voice and set the speed. Blend in a second voice from the advanced settings if you want more warmth.
STEP 03Check the readings, then download
Run Tidy up script or add a Pronounce as tag to any reading you want to set yourself. The MP3 and the SRT and VTT files then appear in My Speech.
Free plan, plainly
Free Japanese TTS, and what a paid plan adds
Everything on this page, including subtitles and commercial use, works on the free plan.
| Capability | Free | StarterMost Popular | Creator |
|---|---|---|---|
| Premium voices Try AI voice over | Not included | 1,600+ expressive voices in 40 languages1 credit per 400 bytes | 1,600+ expressive voices in 40 languages1 credit per 400 bytes |
| Plan and credits | |||
| Price | Free | $6.99 a month, or $69.99 a year | $15.99 a month, or $159.99 a year |
| Credits per month | 5 credits | 100 credits | 300 credits |
| Audio per month | Up to 50 minutes | Up to 1,000 minutes | Up to 3,000 minutes |
| Text per credit, standard voices | 10,000 bytes | 10,000 bytes | 10,000 bytes |
| Text per render | No limit | No limit | No limit |
| Credit packs | Not available | 100 credits for $5 that never expire | 100 credits for $5 that never expire |
| Voices | |||
| Voices | 50+ voices in 9 languages | 50+ voices in 9 languages | 50+ voices in 9 languages |
| Custom voices | Blend any two of 50+ voices | Blend any two of 50+ voices | Blend any two of 50+ voices |
| Blend control | Set the mix in 10% steps | Set the mix in 10% steps | Set the mix in 10% steps |
| Cross-language blends | Included | Included | Included |
| Script editing | |||
| Speed | 0.5x to 2x | 0.5x to 2x | 0.5x to 2x |
| Pauses and slow down | Add pauses up to 5 seconds, slow any phrase | Add pauses up to 5 seconds, slow any phrase | Add pauses up to 5 seconds, slow any phrase |
| Pronunciation | Set how any word is read | Set how any word is read | Set how any word is read |
| Script tidy (AI) | Not available | Included | Included |
| Files and rights | |||
| Subtitles | SRT and VTT | SRT and VTT | SRT and VTT |
| Output format | MP3 | MP3 and WAV | MP3 and WAV |
| Queue | Free queue, no promised time | Skips the free queue | Skips the free queue |
| Renders at once | 1 | Several | Several |
| File retention | 72 hours | 30 days | 30 days |
| Watermark | None | None | None |
| Commercial use | Included | Included | Included |
Minutes per credit are based on standard voices reading English at normal speed.
How credits are counted
Each credit covers 10,000 bytes of text with standard voices and makes up to 10 minutes of audio. With premium voices, each credit covers 400 bytes. Letters in English and most European languages take one byte each, while characters in scripts such as Chinese, Japanese or Hindi take three. Credits are refunded in full if a job fails.
FAQ
Questions about Japanese TTS, answered
Does it read kanji correctly?
Yes. Readings are chosen from context, so common words come out right. For a rarer reading, add a Pronounce as tag and the voice follows your kana.
Can I fix a wrong reading?
Yes. Wrap the word in the Pronounce as tag and type the kana; the kanji stays on screen and the voice reads your kana. Tidy up script scans for homographs and adds the tag where it is confident.
Are there male Japanese voices?
Yes. Takeshi reads with a slower cadence that suits game narration, alongside four female voices. Play the samples to hear the differences in tone.
Can I slow the speech down for language practice?
Yes. The speed slider goes down to 0.5 times with the pitch unchanged, and the subtitles double as a script to read along with.
How do I give a word its reading, like furigana?
Wrap the word in the Pronounce as tag and type the kana. For the voice, the tag does the job furigana does for a reader, and the kanji stay on screen.
How many credits does a Japanese script use?
One credit makes up to 10 minutes of audio, and a longer script still runs in one pass with one further credit per block. The generator shows the exact credit cost before you click generate.
Is the audio free to use in my videos?
Yes, on every plan. Standard voice output is licensed for commercial use with no watermark and no attribution. Subtitles come as a separate SRT or VTT file.
Generate your Japanese audio
Paste the text, pick a voice and download the MP3 with Japanese subtitles.