I hate to be that guy but it’s kawaii vs kowai, the latter having one less syllable (at the end). Something like the difference between pool and pal. There’s al

I hate to be that guy but it’s kawaii vs kowai, the latter having one less syllable (at the end). Something like the difference between pool and pal. There’s also no “uh” sound (although I see what you are going for), and “u” is pronounced as in “you”. I’m not trying to correct you just for the sake of it. Fortunately, all of this is pretty easy to be clear if you learn katakana, it’s pronunciation and romaji for several loan words. Using on-the-fly pronunciation guides like “uh” will trip you up.