音節

Noun

 * 1)  syllable
 * 2)  rhythm
 * 1)  rhythm

Etymology
Not related to English onset despite similarity.

Noun

 * 1)  a syllable

Usage notes

 * A Japanese syllable is said to consist of at least one vowel; optionally preceded by an onglide, then a consonant; and optionally followed by the vowel's lengthening tail, the head of a geminate consonant , a moraic nasal , or in some analyses, an offglide with which the main vowel is said to form a diphthong based on morphology and/or pitch accent. For example:
 * consists of two syllables, and . It has two morae,  and.
 * consists of two syllables, and . It has four morae,, ,  and.
 * consists of two syllables, and . It has four morae,, ,  and.
 * consists of two syllables, and . It has three morae,,  and.
 * consists of one syllable, . It has two morae, and, and one morpheme,.
 * Long vowels, geminate consonants, moraic nasals and diphthongs did not occur in Old Japanese, which is why Old Japanese is often described as consisting of only syllables (not morae like later Japanese). These features gradually developed in later stages of Japanese through various processes, such as and borrowing words from Classical Chinese, causing the need to distinguish between syllables and morae.