Kind Lady
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD · MiniMax
JapanesePolite (keigo)Retail
いらっしゃいませ。本日はお越しいただき、誠にありがとうございます。どうぞごゆっくりお過ごしください。
Welcome. Thank you very much for visiting us today. Please take your time.
0:08
Polite · casual · whisper · 17 native voices
Japanese Text to Speech 自然な日本語のAI音声読み上げ
Paste Japanese — kanji, hiragana or katakana — and hear it read naturally: polite shop greetings, a gentle butler, an energetic student or a soft whisper.
- 16 MiniMax + Qwen3 voices
- Kanji, kana, mixed
- Polite & casual
- Free credits
Updated by the Kenerate AI team
On this page
Quick answer
Updated
What is Japanese text to speech (“音声読み上げ”)?
Kenerate AI's Japanese text to speech reads kanji, hiragana and katakana in natural Japanese voices, for videos, lessons and games: 16 native voices on MiniMax, Ono Anna on Qwen3, and Japanese on ElevenLabs Eleven v3. It handles polite keigo and casual speech, reads up to 10,000 characters per clip, and downloads as MP3, WAV or FLAC.
Key facts
- Native Japanese voices
- 16 on MiniMax + Ono Anna (Qwen3)
- Scripts
- Kanji, hiragana, katakana, mixed
- Other engines
- ElevenLabs Eleven v3 / Multilingual v2
- Per clip
- Up to 10,000 characters
- Free start
- Starter credits, no watermark
- Example voices
- Kind Lady, Gentle Butler, Optimistic Youth, Whisper Belle
Listen first
Six Japanese voices, real outputs
Each card shows the exact Japanese script and an English translation; characters light up as they're spoken.
Gentle Butler
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD · MiniMax
JapanesePoliteButler
お帰りなさいませ。温かいお茶をご用意しております。本日もお疲れさまでした。
Welcome home. I have prepared some warm tea for you. Thank you for your hard work today.
0:05
Optimistic Youth
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD · MiniMax
JapaneseCasualEnergetic
よし、今日も一日がんばろう！まずは朝ごはん、それから公園までランニングだ！
Right, let's give it our all today too! Breakfast first, then a run to the park!
0:05
Whisper Belle
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD · MiniMax
JapaneseWhisperSoft
しーっ、静かに。雨の音、聞こえる？今日はこのまま、ゆっくりしよう。
Shh, quiet. Can you hear the rain? Let's just stay like this and relax today.
0:07
Ono Anna
Qwen3 TTS · Alibaba Qwen
JapaneseCheerfulCooking
みなさん、こんにちは！今日は、簡単でおいしいお弁当の作り方を紹介します。
Hello everyone! Today I'll show you how to make an easy, tasty bento.
0:06
Aria
ElevenLabs Eleven v3 · ElevenLabs
JapaneseTutorialClear
新しいアプリの使い方を、三つのステップで説明します。まず、読み上げたいテキストを入力してください。
I'll explain how to use the new app in three steps. First, type the text you want read aloud.
0:08
How to
How to use Kenerate Japanese Text to Speech
- Time needed
- Steps
- 4 steps
Step 1
Paste Japanese text
Kanji, hiragana and katakana all work; up to 10,000 characters per clip.
Step 2
Pick a Japanese voice
Filter by Japanese to see MiniMax's 16 native voices, or choose Qwen3's Ono Anna.
Step 3
Set the tone
Choose an emotion, adjust speed for learners (0.85×), or pick a whisper voice.
Step 4
Generate and download
MP3, WAV or FLAC, no watermark.
See it in the app
Open Voice Studio in Text to speech and type the words you want spoken, or start from a script template.
1 / 5 · Write or paste your script
Watch the tour · 1:41
Text to speech, emotions & tags, Hindi, voice design, cloning & chat
Chapters
Use cases
Japanese voice-overs, fast
For creators, learners and businesses serving Japanese audiences.
YouTube & Shorts in Japanese
Localized versions of your videos.
Japanese study
Hear sentences, keigo and vocabulary read naturally.
Store & event announcements
Polite announcements for shops and venues.
Games & visual novels
Character lines for original characters.
Stories & picture books
Gentle narration for kids' tales.
Phone menus
Japanese IVR prompts and greetings.
Engines
Engines that speak Japanese
Facts from the Voice Studio's code.
MiniMax
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD
- Languages
- 40 languages
- Per clip
- 10,000 characters per clip
Most natural MiniMax voice; 7 emotions, (laughs)/(sighs) interjections, pronunciation dictionary
Open MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD
ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs Eleven v3
- Languages
- 70 languages
- Per clip
- 5,000 characters per clip
Most expressive; audio tags like [whispers], [laughs], [excited]
Open ElevenLabs Eleven v3
ElevenLabs
ElevenLabs Multilingual v2
- Languages
- 29 languages
- Per clip
- 10,000 characters per clip
Lifelike and consistent over long reads
Open ElevenLabs Multilingual v2
Alibaba Qwen
Qwen3 TTS
- Languages
- 10 languages
- Per clip
- 5,000 characters per clip
9 characterful voices plus a free-text style prompt
Open Qwen3 TTS
Controls
Tune the Japanese read
The same controls as every language.
Speed · 0.5× – 2×
MiniMax voices. 1× is the natural pace; 0.85–0.95× suits narration and learners, 1.1–1.2× suits ads and recaps.
Pitch · −12 to +12
MiniMax voices, in semitones. A few steps down sounds bigger and older; a few up sounds lighter and younger.
Emotion · 7 moods
MiniMax: neutral, happy, sad, angry, fearful, disgusted, surprised — the same words, a different read.
Interjections & tags · (laughs) · [whispers]
MiniMax 2.8 reads 13 cues like (laughs), (sighs), (breath); ElevenLabs Eleven v3 reads audio tags like [whispers], [excited], [sarcastic].
Stability · 0 – 1
ElevenLabs. Lower = more expressive and varied between takes; higher = steadier and more even.
Output · MP3 · WAV · FLAC
MiniMax lets you pick the format and sample rate (16–44.1 kHz); every clip downloads without a watermark.
Scripts
試してみる台本
Japanese scripts to audition voices with.
丁寧 (keigo)
お問い合わせいただき、ありがとうございます。担当者より、本日中にご連絡いたします。
カジュアル
ねえ、今日の夜ごはん何にする？ラーメンとカレー、どっちがいい？
ナレーション
この町には、百年以上続く小さな本屋がある。
アナウンス
まもなく、一番線に快速電車がまいります。黄色い線の内側までお下がりください。
応援
大丈夫、きっとできるよ！最後まで一緒にがんばろう！
Tips
Better Japanese audio
Readings of kanji are the main thing to watch.
If a kanji has several readings, write the one you want in hiragana (e.g. 今日 → きょう).
Use 、and 。 for pauses — they shape rhythm as much as commas do in English.
Pick the voice to match register: Kind Lady or Gentle Butler for keigo, Optimistic Youth for casual.
Slow to 0.85× for study material.
Keep names in katakana or hiragana if the reading is unusual.
MiniMax 2.8's pronunciation dictionary can fix a word the voice keeps misreading.
Example uses
How creators use Japanese text to speech
Illustrative examples of typical workflows, not customer reviews.
Japanese learner
An adult learner can hear keigo and casual sentences read at 0.85x speed and write tricky kanji readings in hiragana to check them.
Shop owner
A shop owner can create polite in-store sale announcements with a kind, formal voice.
Food YouTuber
A food creator can publish Japanese versions of restaurant videos with an upbeat voice for casual narration.
FAQ
Japanese Text to Speech questions
7 questions
What's the most natural Japanese TTS?
MiniMax Speech 2.8 HD with a native Japanese voice sounds the most natural in our tests; ElevenLabs Eleven v3 is a good second option. Compare both on your script with free credits.
Link to this answerCan it read kanji correctly?
Usually, yes. When a kanji has several readings, the voice may pick the wrong one — write that word in hiragana, or add it to MiniMax 2.8's pronunciation dictionary.
Link to this answerDoes it support keigo (polite Japanese)?
Yes. The voice reads whatever register you write; voices like Kind Lady and Gentle Butler suit polite speech.
Link to this answerIs Japanese text to speech free?
A free Kenerate account starts with free credits, usable on any Japanese voice, with no watermark.
Link to this answerCan it translate English into Japanese?
No, it reads the Japanese text you provide. Translate first, then paste the Japanese.
Link to this answerCan I make an anime-style Japanese voice?
You can pick an expressive voice or describe an original character in Voice Design (Qwen3 speaks Japanese). We don't recreate existing anime characters or real voice actors.
Link to this answerAI音声読み上げを無料で使うには？
Kenerateの無料アカウントを作ると、無料クレジットで日本語の音声読み上げをすぐに試せます。漢字・ひらがな・カタカナの文章を貼り付け、MiniMaxの日本語ネイティブ音声16種類やQwen3のOno Annaから声を選んで生成するだけです。1クリップ最大10,000文字まで読み上げでき、音声はMP3・WAV・FLACで透かしなしでダウンロードできます。
Link to this answerIn depth
Japanese Text to Speech, explained
What works, what to avoid, and how the pieces fit.
On this page
Why Japanese TTS is tricky
Japanese mixes three scripts, and many kanji have several readings that depend on context. The voice has to pick the reading before it can say anything, which is where most errors come from. Pitch accent — the rise and fall that distinguishes words — also has to be right for speech to sound native.
Polite and casual registers
Japanese changes form with politeness. Keigo — respectful and humble language — is used with customers and superiors [1], and it has its own rhythm. Choose a voice that suits the register: a calm, polite voice for shop and phone announcements, an energetic one for casual video.
Voices on this page
What each demo voice suits:
- Kind Lady — shop and hotel announcements, customer greetings.
- Gentle Butler — polite male narration.
- Optimistic Youth — casual, energetic videos.
- Whisper Belle — soft, ASMR-style content.
- Ono Anna (Qwen3) — cheerful cooking and lifestyle content.
- Aria (Eleven v3) — clear tutorial narration.
Try Kenerate Japanese Text to Speech
Free to start. No watermark. Download every clip.
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