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Japanese text to speech

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If you're looking for Japanese text to speech voices, you're in luck. Read to learn about TTS services with various language options, including Japanese.

Japanese text to speech

The usage of text to speech software has gotten increasingly widespread. Likewise, using AI voices for various purposes has become very popular in both English and non-English-speaking countries alike. However, problems with accessibility and availability often rear their heads when finding services in languages other than English. After all, the internet and services that can be found across the net are all mainly catered towards English-speaking users. 

So, what can you do if you’re interested in finding AI voice generators in Japanese? If you’re unsure, it’s alright because that’s what we will be getting into today. 

Text to speech for the Japanese language

While many text to speech services prioritize English, other language options are also available, and sometimes they’re abundant. Japanese text to speech options, as well as other languages such as Korean, Portuguese, Turkish, Dutch, and so on, are offered as additional alternatives by different text to speech services. 

When it comes to the Japanese language specifically, there are different natural-sounding voice types that you can choose from, depending on the service you choose. Additionally, you might even be able to find Japanese accents and dialects.

Text to speech software for Japanese

So, now we get to the part of actually settling for a Japanese voice generator. But before we discuss the various TTS options, let’s go over the basics of what text to speech software can offer you.

So, essentially, TTS software allows you to turn any text format into an audio file by utilizing TTS technologies and AI-generated voices. Many of these services have vast collections of different high-quality text to speech voices that you can choose. This includes both male voices and female voices and different age ranges. Many TTS services also have app versions, which means you can access them on your phone wherever and whenever. These AI voices are usually very high-quality and are rather natural-sounding. 

However, it’s important to mention that even though their likeness to actual human voices is improving daily due to e-learning, they still don’t sound entirely human. These limitations are something you should keep in mind when looking for a voice-over in Japanese for an anime, YouTube video, podcast, etc. Without further ado, let’s get into some Japanese voice generator options that you can consider. 

Amazon Polly

Amazon Polly is a text to speech service provided by Amazon Web Services that allows you to turn text into audio files. It has an extensive collection of different languages and voice types. The voices are very life-like and realistic and there are various options. Different accents are also available as well. 

Murf

Another service that can also turn text into speech using AI-generated voices is Murf.ai. This service is pretty handy due to the fact that it separates its voice options into different categories, making it so that there’s a voice for almost everything. There are voices for marketing purposes, educational videos, podcasts, customers support, animated explainer videos, and so on. Along with a wide variety of different voices, there are also many languages that you can choose from, making it viable for the needs and purposes of non-English users. 

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft Azure also provides text to speech services that allow you to turn any text document into an audio recording. Additionally, Microsoft Azure also enables you to do the opposite, meaning you can also transcribe speech into text, meaning it’s good for both use cases and more. 

Synthesia

Synthesia is pretty interesting, given that it’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades type of service. It can convert text into audio and it can also help you create videos, such as explainer videos and AI-generated videos for many different purposes. You can also edit and update the videos as much as you like on the Synthesia web app. In addition, Synthesia has a collection of different languages and accents that you can pick and choose from, making it a stellar choice for users looking to create voiceovers in Japanese or any other language. 

Speechify 

Last but definitely not least, there’s Speechify. This service comes in the form of a desktop app as well as a mobile one, which means you can access it from your mobile device wherever and whenever. Additionally, there’s also a Chrome extension for increased functionality. 

Speechify is there to help you convert text formats into audio recordings, as you might have already guessed, and it definitely does the job well. Speechify has a rich collection of different voices and it also allows you to include different accents as well. Of course, this also includes Japanese, allowing you to make the perfect Japanese text to speech recording, which you can download in a variety of formats, including MP3 or WAV.

Thanks to machine learning, the premium voices that Speechify provides are also incredibly natural-sounding, making them pleasant and enjoyable listens. In addition to allowing you to convert all types of text files, such as Google Docs, articles, PDFs, emails, and so on, it also allows you to scan actual hard-copy documents and turn them into the perfect audio recording. Try it today to see how it suits your needs.

FAQ

What are the three main categories of Japanese Text to Speech Voices?

When it comes to written Japanese (日本語), there are three different categories: Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji. Hiragana is the most simplified form of the Japanese language, while Kanji is the most complex one. On the other hand, Katakana is largely used for foreign words in Japanese. Additionally, there is also a fourth category called Romanji. This category is essentially a romanized version of the Japanese language and it’s written phonetically using the English alphabet. 

What is the difference between male and female voices?

Unlike English, Japanese has certain grammatical specifications depending on whether the person speaking is a man or a woman. Essentially, there are a lot of gendered linguistic implications that don’t exist in English. So, sometimes, changing up a sentence a bit is required in order for it to be grammatically correct in Japanese. 

What do you need to be able to use a Japanese text to speech voice?

Aside from specifying things here or there in the written text, using Japanese text to speech voices is pretty much the same as using any other language option.

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman

Cliff Weitzman is a dyslexia advocate and the CEO and founder of Speechify, the #1 text-to-speech app in the world, totaling over 100,000 5-star reviews and ranking first place in the App Store for the News & Magazines category. In 2017, Weitzman was named to the Forbes 30 under 30 list for his work making the internet more accessible to people with learning disabilities. Cliff Weitzman has been featured in EdSurge, Inc., PC Mag, Entrepreneur, Mashable, among other leading outlets.