gi and bi in certain words

[ayelite4782]

Hi everyone,
I've noticed that "gi" in the word "会議" is pronounced very close to "ni",
also the "bi" in the word "出発日" is pronounced exactly like "ri",
Can anyone tell me why is that so?, Is that normal?, Are ther other cases, in which words are pronounced differently then they should?

[Psy]

There are cases where (and speakers who tend towards pronouncing) the G sound closer to the nasal NG. Since N is also a nasal consonant, that might explain the way you're hearing it. While this altered pronunciation is mostly an individual thing, you'll very often hear it when が is being used as a conjunction. 日, however, won't be pronounced with an R sound unless you're speaking Mandarin Chinese. I'd be interested to hear a clip of the reading you're talking about, because I've never encountered it as such.

This is why the written language should be taken as a hint to proper pronunciation and never a hard rule.

[ayelite4782]

Thank you very much for your answer,
The clip of the "hi" pronounced as "ri" is on this site in the word dictionary in the word "出発日".

[Psy]

Hmm, I've searched the dictionary and only found 出発、出発時間、and 出発点. How am I missing this?

[ayelite4782]

I 've found it, It's not in the dictionary, its in the "Lower Intermediate Lesson #5 - Second Honeymoon" lesson.
Check the vocabulary list

[tulae3334693]

You're hearing that wrong somehow, he's saying "bi".