In phonetic terms both languages, the Japanese and the Spanish languages share various similitudes. Both languages are syllable-timed languages with a 5 vowel system. They coincide in four of them, just having a small difference of pronunciation in their respective "u" vowel (the Spanish U is a close back rounded vowel while the Japanese U is a close back compressed vowel). For the native Spanish speakers, the Japanese U although similar to its U, tends to have an inherent weak B-like sound, similar to their /β/ voiced bilabial approximant, caused by the lips compression. In the case of the native Japanese speakers, the Spanish U is pronounced as a う with the lips protruded, in the same way as the お.