How to say "consonant" in Japanese

• 子音しいんCommon
  nounThe ordinary word for a consonant as a speech sound, the counterpart of 母音 (vowel); use it in phonetics, language study, and everyday talk about pronunciation.
  美土里みどりは時々ときどき子音しいんが落おちる。↗

  Midori sometimes drops consonants.
• 体文たいもん
  nounA technical term for a consonant letter of the Siddham script, met with in the study of Sanskrit and Buddhist texts; not the word for a consonant in ordinary linguistic discussion.
• コンソナント
  nounA loanword rendering of English 'consonant'; much less common than 子音, which is the word you want in ordinary writing and speech.
• 父音ふいん
  nounLiterally 'father sound', a rare alternative to 子音; the familiar pair is 母音 (vowel) and 子音 (consonant), so 子音 is almost always the word you want.

Use 子音 for the ordinary sense 'consonant (speech sound)'; 体文 is the technical term for consonants in the Siddham script; 「コンソナント」 is a loanword rendering; 父音 is a rare alternative to 子音.

Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only

• 子音しいんconsonant
• 体文たいもんconsonant (in the Siddham script)
• コンソナントconsonant
• 父音ふいんconsonant