Do you pronounce the "い" sound in yakisoba [やきそば]?


The dish yakisoba is clearly written as やきそば or 焼きそば. When I hear native
speakers speak it, it sounds to me like the "い" sound in "き" is silent. I've
heard it pronounced like "yak-soba". Is there a reason for this and is it
correct to pronounce it like "yak-soba" or should I pronounce it like the
hirigana is written?




Sounds like a textbook case of
[devoicing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulhd9fl2Gug). I am not at all
well-versed in the rules and exceptions to this phenomenon, but some
information can be found [here on
Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Devoicing).

Note that there are certain regions and dialects of Japan where devoicing is
not observed. If you hear a word pronounced not like what you would have
expected, always try to consult a dictionary like [this one](https://sakura-
paris.org/dict/NHK%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E7%99%BA%E9%9F%B3%E3%82%A2%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E8%BE%9E%E5%85%B8/suffix/%E7%84%BC%E3%81%8D%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0)
(In this link, devoicing of the キ is represented by a discontinuous circle
around the katakana).




Sounds like a textbook case of
[devoicing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ulhd9fl2Gug). I am not at all
well-versed in the rules and exceptions to this phenomenon, but some
information can be found [here on
Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_phonology#Devoicing).

Note that there are certain regions and dialects of Japan where devoicing is
not observed. If you hear a word pronounced not like what you would have
expected, always try to consult a dictionary like [this one](https://sakura-
paris.org/dict/NHK%E6%97%A5%E6%9C%AC%E8%AA%9E%E7%99%BA%E9%9F%B3%E3%82%A2%E3%82%AF%E3%82%BB%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88%E8%BE%9E%E5%85%B8/suffix/%E7%84%BC%E3%81%8D%E3%81%9D%E3%81%B0)
(In this link, devoicing of the キ is represented by a discontinuous circle
around the katakana).

