Japanese pitch accent is a feature of the Japanese language that distinguishes words by accenting particular morae in most Japanese dialects. The nature and location of the accent for a given word may vary between dialects. For instance, the word for "river" is pronounced as /[ka.waꜜ]/ in the Tokyo dialect, with the accent on the second mora, but in the Kansai dialect it is pronounced as /[kaꜜ.wa]/. A final pronounced as /[i]/ or pronounced as /[ɯ]/ is often devoiced to pronounced as /[i̥]/ or pronounced as /[ɯ̥]/ after a downstep and an unvoiced consonant.
The Japanese term,,[1] and refers to pitch accent in languages such as Japanese and Swedish. It contrasts with,[1] which refers to stress. An alternative term is [2] which contrasts with .[2]
Normative pitch accent, essentially the pitch accent of the Tokyo Yamanote dialect, is considered essential in jobs such as broadcasting. The current standards for pitch accent are presented in special accent dictionaries for native speakers such as the Shin Meikai Nihongo Akusento Jiten (Japanese: 新明解日本語アクセント辞典) and the NHK Nihongo Hatsuon Akusento Jiten (Japanese: NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典). Newsreaders and other speech professionals are required to follow these standards.
Foreign learners of Japanese are often not taught to pronounce the pitch accent, though it is included in some noted texts, such as . Incorrect pitch accent is a strong characteristic of a "foreign accent" in Japanese.
In standard Japanese, pitch accent has the following effect on words spoken in isolation:
Note that accent rules apply to phonological words, which include any following particles. So the sequence "hashi" spoken in isolation can be accented in two ways, either háshi (accent on the first syllable, meaning 'chopsticks') or hashí (flat or accent on the second syllable, meaning either 'edge' or 'bridge'), while "hashi" plus the subject-marker "ga" can be accented on the first syllable or the second, or be flat/accentless: háshiga 'chopsticks', hashíga 'bridge', or hashiga 'edge'.
In poetry, a word such as Japanese: 面白い omoshirói, which has the accent on the fourth mora ro, is pronounced in five beats (morae). When initial in the phrase (and therefore starting out with a low pitch), the pitch typically rises on the o, levels out at mid range on the moshi, peaks on the ro, and then drops suddenly on the i, producing a falling tone on the roi.
In all cases but final accent, there is a general declination (gradual decline) of pitch across the phrase. This, and the initial rise, are part of the prosody of the phrase, not lexical accent, and are larger in scope than the phonological word. That is, within the overall pitch-contour of the phrase there may be more than one phonological word, and thus potentially more than one accent.
An "accent nucleus" (アクセント核 akusento kaku) or "accent locus" is another name for an accented mora, a mora that carries a high tone and is followed by a mora with a low tone. In other words, the precipitous drop in pitch occurs right at the boundary between the accent nucleus and the mora immediately after it. Unaccented words (of the heiban type) do not have an accent nucleus.
Unlike regular morae or 自立拍 (jiritsu haku "autonomous beats"), defective morae or 特殊拍 (tokushu haku "special beats") cannot generally be accent nuclei. They historically arose through various processes that limited their occurrences and prominence in terms of accent-carrying capability. There are four types of them:
While the accent patterns of single words are often unpredictable, those of compounds are often rule-based. Take the suffix 市 (-shi), for example. When compounding with a place name to form a city name, the accent nucleus of the resulting compound is usually immediately before 市 itself:
But if the mora before 市 is defective, the accent must shift one mora backward:
A defective mora can be an accent nucleus only if the mora following it is also defective:[3]
In general, Japanese utterances can be syntactically split into discrete phrases (known in the Hashimoto school of grammar as [4]). For example, the utterance 母が料理をして父が皿を洗います (Haha-ga ryōri-o shite chichi-ga sara-o arai-masu "My mother cooks and my father washes the dishes") can be subdivided into the following phrases:
The general structure of these phrases is that a syntactically free morpheme is followed by one or more syntactically bound morphemes. Free morphemes are nouns, adjectives and verbs, while bound morphemes are particles and auxiliaries. In the above utterance, the free morphemes are 母, 料理, して, 父, 皿, and 洗い while the bound ones are が, を and ます. The accent pattern of the entire utterance could be something like this:
| ha-ha-ga | ryo-o-ri-o | shi-te | chi-chi-ga | sa-ra-o | a-ra-i-ma-su | |
| HꜜL-L | HꜜL-L-L | L-H | HꜜL-L | L-H-H | L-H-H-HꜜL |
Ideally, each phrase can carry at most one accent nucleus (in the above example, ha-ha-ga, ryo-o-ri-o, chi-chi-ga and a-ra-i-ma-su), and such accent nucleus is based solely on the lexical accent nucleus of the free morpheme of that phrase (bound morphemes do not have lexical accent patterns, and whatever accent patterns they do have is dependent on those of the free morphemes they follow). However, the situation becomes complicated when it comes to compound nouns.
When multiple independent nouns are placed successively, they syntactically form a compound noun. For example:
At the phrasal level, compound nouns are well contained within a phrase, no matter how long they are. Thus, the utterance ヨーロッパは第一次世界大戦では主戦場となった (Yōroppa-wa Dai-ichiji-Sekai-Taisen-de-wa shusenjō-to natta "Europe was the main theater of war in World War I") is subdivided into phrases as follows:
As Dai-ichiji-Sekai-Taisen-de-wa is an entire phrase in itself, it should ideally carry at most one accent nucleus, the lexical accent nucleus of the free compound noun Dai-ichiji-Sekai-Taisen. In actuality, Dai-ichiji-Sekai-Taisen, as a compound noun, is capable of carrying more than one accent nucleus. While still being a syntactic compound, its components might not be solidly "fused" together and still retain their own lexical accent nuclei. Whether Dai-ichiji-Sekai-Taisen should have one nucleus of its own, or several nuclei of its constituents, is a matter of whether it is a "compoundified compound noun" (複合語化複合名詞 fukugōgoka fukugō meishi) or "noncompoundified compound noun" (非複合語化複合名詞 hifukugōgoka fukugō meishi).[5] The "compoundification" status of a compound noun is lexical, meaning that whether such compound noun is long or short, or simple or complex, is not relevant to whether it is "compoundified" or not. A yojijukugo such as 世代交代 (sedai-kōtai "change of generation") may be treated as "compoundified," with a single accent nucleus:[6]
| 世代交代 | |
|---|---|
| se-da-i-ko-o-ta-i | |
| L-H-H-HꜜL-L-L |
Meanwhile, a different four-kanji compound noun, 新旧交代 (shinkyū-kōtai "transition between the old and the new"), is treated as "noncompoundified", and retains the lexical accent nuclei of its constituents (in this case 新旧 and 交代):
| 新旧 + 交代 | |
|---|---|
| shi-n-kyu-u + ko-o-ta-i | |
| HꜜL-L-L + H-H-H-H |
Some compound nouns, such as 核廃棄物 (kaku-haikibutsu "nuclear waste"), can be, on a preferential basis, either "compoundified" or "noncompoundified":
| 核廃棄物 | 核 + 廃棄物 | |
|---|---|---|
| ka-ku-ha-i-ki-bu-tsu | ka-ku + ha-i-ki-bu-tsu | |
| L-H-H-H-HꜜL-L | HꜜL + L-H-HꜜL-L |
For "noncompoundified" compound nouns, which constituents should be allowed for may also vary. For example, the above 第一次世界大戦:
| 第一次 + 世界大戦 | 第 + 一次 + 世界大戦 | |
|---|---|---|
| da-i-i-chi-ji + se-ka-i-ta-i-se-n | da-i + i-chi-ji + se-ka-i-ta-i-se-n | |
| HꜜL-L-L-L + L-H-H-HꜜL-L-L | HꜜL + L-HꜜL + L-H-H-HꜜL-L-L |
The foregoing describes the actual pitch. In most guides, however, accent is presented with a two-pitch-level model. In this representation, each mora is either high (H) or low (L) in pitch, with the shift from high to low of an accented mora transcribed HꜜL.
Phonetically, although only the terms "high" and "low" are used, the "high" of an unaccented mora is not as high as an accented mora. Different analyses may treat final-accented (odaka) words and unaccented (heiban) words as identical and only distinguishable by a following particle, or phonetically contrastive and potentially phonemic based on how high a "high" tone actually is (see the Tertiary pitch subsection below). And the phonetic tones are never truly stable, but degrade toward the end of an utterance. This is especially noticeable in longer words, where the so-called "high" pitch tapers off toward the end. This tapering is especially exemplified by what is variously known as downstep or downdrift, where the "high" pitch of words becomes successively lower after each accented mora:[7] [8]
| Phrase | Phonemic accent pattern | |
|---|---|---|
| 海で泳ぎ (umi-de oyogi "swimming in the sea") | HꜜL-L L-HꜜL | |
| 被ってみたら (kabutte mitara "try putting on the head") | L-HꜜL-L HꜜL-L |
In slow and deliberate enunciation (for example, with a pause between elements), the "high" tone of the second element in these phrases could still be sufficiently "high," but in natural, often pauseless, speech, it could become as low as the "low" tone of the first element, since there is an accented mora in that first element.
Earlier phonologists made use of a three-tone system, with an additional "mid" tone (M). For example, 端 (hashi "edge", heiban/unaccented) is considered to have a L-M pattern, while 橋 (hashi "bridge", odaka/final-accented) is to have a L-H pattern. This contrast is supported by phonetic analyses, which show that the contrast in frequency between the "low" and "high" tones in, for example, 花 (hana "flower", odaka/final-accented), is much starker than the contrast between the "low" and "mid" tones in 鼻 (hana "nose", heiban/unaccented). Moreover, the "high" tone in final-accented words is phonetically higher than the "mid" tone in unaccented words. With respect to potential minimal pairs such as "edge" hashi vs "bridge" hashi and "nose" hana vs "flower" hana, the "mid" tone, in theory, should be considered phonemic, but it is now largely merged with the "high" tone as phonologists claim there are no perceptible differences in pitch pattern between a final-accented word (odaka) without a following particle and an unaccented word (heiban):
| Word | Old analysis[9] | New analysis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 端 (hashi "edge") | L-M | L-H | |
| 橋 (hashi "bridge") | L-Hꜜ | ||
The "mid" tone also corresponds to what is now considered the "low" tone in initial-accented (atamadaka) and medial-accented (nakadaka) words:
| Word | Old analysis | New analysis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 火鉢 (hibachi) | HꜜM-M | HꜜL-L | |
| お玉 (otama "ball") | L-HꜜM | L-HꜜL |
The tone of the first mora in non-initial-accented (non-atamadaka) words is often underspecified. Early versions of the NHK日本語発音アクセント新辞典 (NHK Nihongo Hatsuon Accent Jiten "NHK Pronouncing Accent Dictionary") always leave it unmarked. This is owing to how what is known as "initial lowering"[10] is not universally applied in natural speech, thus making the tone of the first mora indefinite and dependent on the nature of the second mora:
In the (1) circumstances where initial lowering does not naturally happen in connected speech, it can still be artificially induced with the slow, deliberate enunciation of whatever word is of concern.
The following are illustrative examples of the indefinite pitch of the first mora. For monomoraic non-initial-accented words, the second mora is whatever particle that follows it.
| Word | Kana spelling | Phonemic transcription | Type of the second mora | (1) | (2) | (3) | Initial-accented |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 漫画 (manga) | まんが | /maNɡa/ | hatsuon | H-H-H | |||
| 交番 (kōban) | こうばん | /koRban/ | lengthening half of a long vowel | H-H-H-H | |||
| フォークリフト (fōkurifuto "forklift") | フォークリフト | /ɸoRkuriɸuto/ | H-H-H-HꜜL-L | ||||
| 切腹 (seppuku) | せっぷく | /seQpuku/ | sokuon | L-L-H-H | |||
| 愛人 (aijin "lover") | あいじん | /aIzin/ | morphologically bound /i/ | L-H-H-H | |||
| アメリカ (Amerika "America") | アメリカ | /amerika/ | free mora | L-H-H-H | |||
| 黄は (ki-wa "yellow") | きは | /kiwa/ | L-H | HꜜL | |||
| 気が (ke-ga "sign; indication") | けが | /kega/ | L-H | HꜜL | |||
Many linguists analyse Japanese pitch accent somewhat differently. In their view, a word either has a downstep or does not. If it does, the pitch drops between the accented mora and the subsequent one; if it does not have a downstep, the pitch remains more or less constant throughout the length of the word: That is, the pitch is "flat" as Japanese speakers describe it. The initial rise in the pitch of the word, and the gradual rise and fall of pitch across a word, arise not from lexical accent, but rather from prosody, which is added to the word by its context: If the first word in a phrase does not have an accent on the first mora, then it starts with a low pitch, which then rises to high over subsequent morae. This phrasal prosody is applied to individual words only when they are spoken in isolation. Within a phrase, each downstep triggers another drop in pitch, and this accounts for a gradual drop in pitch throughout the phrase. This drop is called terracing. The next phrase thus starts off near the low end of the speaker's pitch range and needs to reset to high before the next downstep can occur.
Most of the following patterns are listed in the NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典.
According to the appendix アクセント to the Daijirin, here are the patterns for the 連用形 of monograde verbs without a trailing particle or auxiliary:
The derived noun from くらべる is くらべ (accentless). Also compare the 連用形 しらꜜべ (nakadaka) to its derived noun, しらべꜜ (odaka).
According to Shiro Kori (2020),[11] here are the patterns for the 連用形 of pentagrade verbs without a trailing particle or auxiliary:
Compare the 連用形 のꜜみ (nakadaka) to its derived noun, のみꜜ (odaka).
The accent of nouns derived from verbs is generally based on the accent of the dictionary forms of those verbs. If the dictionary form is accentless, the derived noun is also accentless:
If the dictionary form is accented, the derived noun has odaka accent, though certain derived nouns may alternatively have different accent types:
Nouns derived from compound verbs tend to be accentless:
-sa forms derived from accentless dictionary forms of adjectives tend to also be accentless:
For accented dictionary forms with more than 2 morae, the accented location of the -sa forms is shifted back by 1 mora; OR, for non--shii dictionary forms with more than 3 morae, the accented location may, alternative, not be shifted:
For -na adjectives, their roots' last mora is accented:
-mi forms derived from accentless dictionary forms of adjectives tend to also be accentless:
For accented dictionary forms, unlike -sa, -mi often results in odaka accent, although for derived nouns with 4 or more morae, other accent types may also be found:
-ke/ge forms derived from accentless dictionary forms of adjectives, nouns and verbs tend to also be accentless:
For -ke/ge forms derived from accented dictionary forms, the results are often odaka, but if they contain more than 3 morae, they may be nakadaka instead:
Certain highly productive affixes, often of Sino-Japanese origin, often result in compound nouns with predictable accent patterns.
Productive Sino-Japanese prefixes such as 以（い）、各（かく）、貴（き）、現（げん）、故（こ）、今（こん）、諸（しょ）、先（せん）、前（ぜん）、尊（そん）、当（とう）、同（どう）、某（ぼう）、本（ほん）、両（りょう） often result in atamadaka compounds: しょꜜけい（諸兄）、かꜜくじん（各人）、とꜜうしゃ（当社）、どꜜうこう（同校）、ぼꜜうじょ（某女）、ぼꜜうじつ（某日）.
For many native and Sino-Japanese suffixes, the accent falls on the last 自立拍 of the nouns before them. This means that if the last mora is a 特殊拍, the accent must shift backward until it reaches a 自立拍 (see
Some suffixes often result in accentless compounds:
Some suffixes belong to both the above groups:
For a few native suffixes, their first mora is often accented:
For native suffixes derived from free words with more than 2 morae, or native and Sino-Japanese suffixes derived from free words with 2 morphemes (often spelt with 2 kanji), if the original free words are accentless, odaka or atamadaka, the first mora of the derived suffixes is often accented:
For suffixes derived from free words with nakadaka accent, the tendency is to only keep the original accent of those free words, though some shifting may occur if the resulting compounds are very long:
Some common proper name suffixes, such as 様（さま）、さん、ちゃん、殿（どの）、君（くん）, do not affect the names they suffix:
氏（し） places the accent on the last mora of originally accentless names, but does not affect accented names:
Some suffixes notably affect accentless and accented nouns differently, like a trailing particle:
The lexical accents of words as shown in dictionaries may be modified if there is a trailing particle or auxiliary.
The particles are categorized in four groups based on how they modify the accent of the nouns the follow.
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Noun's accent | Noun+particle's accent | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group A +が +から | Group B +の | Group C +ね +かな | Group D +より +かしら | Group E +だけ | ||||||||
| accentless | 葉 | は | はが はから | はの | はねꜜ はかなꜜ | The particle's last mora is accented. | はよꜜり はかꜜしら | The particle's first mora is accented. | はだけ | |||
| 水 | みず | みずが みずから | みずの | みずねꜜ みずかなꜜ | みずよꜜり みずかꜜしら | みずだけ | ||||||
| 桜 | さくら | さくらが さくらから | さくらの | さくらねꜜ さくらかなꜜ | さくらよꜜり さくらかꜜしら | さくらだけ | ||||||
| accented | odaka | 山 | やまꜜ | やまꜜが やまꜜから | やまの | Deaccented. | やまꜜね やまꜜかな | やまꜜより やまꜜかしら | やまだけ | Deaccented. | ||
| 休み | やすみꜜ | やすみꜜが やすみꜜから | やすみの | やすみꜜね やすみꜜかな | やすみꜜより やすみꜜかしら | やすみだけ | ||||||
| 妹 | いもうとꜜ | いもうとꜜが いもうとꜜから | いもうとの | いもうとꜜね いもうとꜜかな | いもうとꜜより いもうとꜜかしら | いもうとだけ | ||||||
| nakadaka | お菓子 | おかꜜし | おかꜜしが おかꜜしから | おかꜜしの | おかꜜしね おかꜜしかな | おかꜜしより おかꜜしかしら | おかしだけ | |||||
| 湖 | みずうꜜみ | みずうꜜみが みずうꜜみから | みずうꜜみの | みずうꜜみね みずうꜜみかな | みずうꜜみより みずうꜜみかしら | みずうみだけ | ||||||
| 飲み物 | のみꜜもの | のみꜜものが のみꜜものから | のみꜜものの | のみꜜものね のみꜜものかな | のみꜜものより のみꜜものかしら | のみものだけ | ||||||
| atamadaka | 木 | きꜜ | きꜜが きꜜから | きꜜの | きꜜね きꜜかな | きꜜより きꜜかしら | きだけ | |||||
| 春 | はꜜる | はꜜるが はꜜるから | はꜜるの | はꜜるね はꜜるかな | はꜜるより はꜜるかしら | はるだけ | ||||||
| 緑 | みꜜどり | みꜜどりが みꜜどりから | みꜜどりの | みꜜどりね みꜜどりかな | みꜜどりより みꜜどりかしら | みどりだけ | ||||||
The table above shows that the particle の does not affect certain nakadaka nouns. However, if a nakadaka noun ends in a special mora (特殊拍, see
It has been argued that this behavior of these nakadaka nouns, coupled with that of odaka nouns, is proof that Japanese is a syllabic language rather than a moraic one,[12] and syllables do indeed exist in Japanese, despite some objection such as Labrune (2012). These two groups of nouns can be classed as accented on the last syllable and deaccented if followed by の because (1) the odaka nouns end in a 自立拍, therefore their last "syllable" is accented and (2) the nakadaka nouns ends in a 自立拍 followed by a 特殊拍, therefore the last "syllable" is also accented. Here, the above examples are restated with added periods to denote "syllabic" boundaries, and with boldened last "syllables":
Certain odaka words, including ancient place names, are not deaccented by の.
As noted above, the particle の can remove accent from odaka nouns, and nakadaka nouns ending in a 特殊拍, resulting in a accentless phrase. Once the resulting noun+の phrase becomes accentless, when it is followed by another noun to form a fixed phrase, the second noun's accent often takes precedence:
On the other hand, as の cannot remove accent from other nakadaka nouns, and atamadaka nouns, the resulting noun+の remains accented, and its accent often takes precedence:
Although these "rules" are still overidden in many other fixed phrases:
If the accented mora of a odaka noun, or a noun ending in a special mora (特殊拍) as mentioned above, is preceded by a devoiced mora (voiceless consonant + i or u + voiceless consonant), and that noun may not be deaccented by の.
Auxiliaries can be categorized into four groups:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Noun's accent | Noun+auxiliary's accent | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group a +だ | Group b +です | Group c +だろう | Group d +らしい | ||||||
| accentless | 葉 | は | はだ | はでꜜす | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. | はだろꜜう | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. | はらしꜜい | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. |
| 水 | みず | みずだ | みずでꜜす | みずだろꜜう | みずらしꜜい | ||||
| 桜 | さくら | さくらだ | さくらでꜜす | さくらだろꜜう | さくららしꜜい | ||||
| accented | odaka | 山 | やまꜜ | やまꜜだ | やまꜜです | やまꜜだろう | やまらしꜜい | ||
| 休み | やすみꜜ | やすみꜜだ | やすみꜜです | やすみꜜだろう | やすみらしꜜい | ||||
| 妹 | いもうとꜜ | いもうとꜜだ | いもうとꜜです | いもうとꜜだろう | いもうとらしꜜい | ||||
| nakadaka | お菓子 | おかꜜし | おかꜜしだ | おかꜜしです | おかꜜしだろう | おかしらしꜜい | |||
| 湖 | みずうꜜみ | みずうꜜみだ | みずうꜜみです | みずうꜜみだろう | みずうみらしꜜい | ||||
| 飲み物 | のみꜜもの | のみꜜものだ | のみꜜものです | のみꜜものだろう | のみものらしꜜい | ||||
| atamadaka | 木 | きꜜ | きꜜだ | きꜜです | きꜜだろう | きらしꜜい | |||
| 春 | はꜜる | はꜜるだ | はꜜるです | はꜜるだろう | はるらしꜜい | ||||
| 緑 | みꜜどり | みꜜどりだ | みꜜどりです | みꜜどりだろう | みどりらしꜜい | ||||
When certain accentless nouns (accentless), such as 日（ひ）, 上（うえ）, 下（した）, 家（うち）, 人（ひと）, 所（ところ）, etc. are attributively modified by another accentless or odaka word and simultaneously followed by a particle or an auxiliary, the accent of the entire phrase may fall on the last mora of such nouns. Some examples include:
When an accentless adverbial (accentless) is followed by a particle or an auxiliary, the accent falls on the last mora of that adverbial (even if that adverbial already contains a particle to begin with).
Four groups of particles that can follow the 連用形 of verbs:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | 連用形+particle's accent | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group F +て | Group G +たり | Group H +は | Group I +ながら | ||||||||
| accentless | Monograde | 居る | いる | いて | いたꜜり | The particle's first mora is accented. | いꜜは | The 連用形's last mora is accented. | いながら | ||
| 腫れる | はれる | はれて | はれたꜜり | はれꜜは | はれながら | ||||||
| 比べる | くらべる | くらべて | くらべたꜜり | くらべꜜは | くらべながら | ||||||
| 感じる | かんじる | かんじて | かんじたꜜり | かんじꜜは | かんじながら | ||||||
| -suru | 感ずる | ||||||||||
| Pentagrade | 鳴る | なる | なって | なったꜜり | なりꜜは | なりながら | |||||
| 洗う | あらう | あらって | あらったꜜり | あらいꜜは | あらいながら | ||||||
| 行う | おこなう | おこなって | おこなったꜜり | おこなりꜜは | おこなりながら | ||||||
| accented | Monograde | 射る | いꜜる | いꜜて | If possible, the accent nucleus shifts back until it reaches a 自立拍. | いꜜたり | If possible, the accent nucleus shifts back until it reaches a 自立拍. | いꜜは | If possible, the accent nucleus shifts back until it reaches a 自立拍. | いなꜜがら | The particle's first mora is accented. |
| 晴れる | はれꜜる | はꜜれて | はꜜれたり | はꜜれは | はれなꜜがら | ||||||
| 調べる | しらべꜜる | しらꜜべて | しらꜜべたり | しらꜜべは | しらべなꜜがら | ||||||
| 信じる | しんじꜜる | しꜜんじて | しꜜんじたり | しꜜんじは | しんじなꜜがら | ||||||
| -suru | 信ずる | しんずꜜる | |||||||||
| Pentagrade | 成る | なꜜる | なꜜって | なꜜったり | なꜜりは | なりなꜜがら | |||||
| 帰る | かꜜえる | かꜜえって | かꜜえったり | かꜜえりは | かえりなꜜがら | ||||||
| 習う | ならꜜう | ならꜜって | ならꜜったり | ならꜜりは | ならりなꜜがら | ||||||
| 手伝う | てつだꜜう | てつだꜜって | てつだꜜったり | てつだꜜいは | てつだいなꜜがら | ||||||
Five groups of particles that can follow the dictionary forms of verbs:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | Dictionary form+particle's accent | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group J +と +ほど | Group K +ね | Group L +まで | Group M +か +かしら | Group N +だけ | ||||||||
| accentless | Monograde | 居る | いる | いると いるほど | いるねꜜ | The particle's last mora is accented | いるまꜜで | The particle's first mora is accented | いるꜜか いるꜜかしら | The dictionary form's last mora is accented | いるだけ | |
| 腫れる | はれる | はれると はれるほど | はれるねꜜ | はれるまꜜで | はれるꜜか はれるꜜかしら | はれるだけ | ||||||
| 比べる | くらべる | くらべると くらべるほど | くらべるねꜜ | くらべるまꜜで | くらべるꜜか くらべるꜜかしら | くらべるだけ | ||||||
| 感じる | かんじる | かんじると かんじるほど | かんじるねꜜ | かんじるまꜜで | かんじるꜜか かんじるꜜかしら | かんじるだけ | ||||||
| -suru | 感ずる | かんずる | かんずると かんずるほど | かんずるねꜜ | かんずるまꜜで | かんずるꜜか かんずるꜜかしら | かんずるだけ | |||||
| Pentagrade | 鳴る | なる | なると なるほど | なるねꜜ | なるまꜜで | なるꜜか なるꜜかしら | なるだけ | |||||
| 洗う | あらう | あらうと あらうほど | あらうねꜜ | あらうまꜜで | あらうꜜか あらうꜜかしら | あらうだけ | ||||||
| 行う | おこなう | おこなうと おこなうほど | おこなうねꜜ | おこなうまꜜで | おこなうꜜか おこなうꜜかしら | おこなうだけ | ||||||
| accented | Monograde | 射る | いꜜる | いꜜると いꜜるほど | いꜜるね | いꜜるまで | いꜜるか いꜜるかしら | いるだけ | Deaccented. | |||
| 晴れる | はれꜜる | はれꜜると はれꜜるほど | はれꜜるね | はれꜜるまで | はれꜜるか はれꜜるかしら | はれるだけ | ||||||
| 調べる | しらべꜜる | しらべꜜると しらべꜜるほど | しらべꜜるね | しらべꜜるまで | しらべꜜるか しらべꜜるかしら | しらべるだけ | ||||||
| 信じる | しんじꜜる | しんじꜜると しんじꜜるほど | しんじꜜるね | しんじꜜるまで | しんじꜜるか しんじꜜるかしら | しんじるだけ | ||||||
| -suru | 信ずる | しんずꜜる | しんずꜜると しんずꜜるほど | しんずꜜるね | しんずꜜるまで | しんずꜜるか しんずꜜるかしら | しんずるだけ | |||||
| Pentagrade | 成る | なꜜる | なꜜると なꜜるほど | なꜜるね | なꜜるまで | なꜜるか なꜜるかしら | なるだけ | |||||
| 帰る | かꜜえる | かꜜえると かꜜえるほど | かꜜえるね | かꜜえるまで | かꜜえるか かꜜえるかしら | かえるだけ | ||||||
| 習う | ならꜜう | ならꜜうと ならꜜうほど | ならꜜうね | ならꜜうまで | ならꜜうか ならꜜうかしら | ならうだけ | ||||||
| 手伝う | てつだꜜう | てつだꜜうと てつだꜜうほど | てつだꜜうね | てつだꜜうまで | てつだꜜうか てつだꜜうかしら | てつだうだけ | ||||||
Group O consists of ど、ば、ども. When these particles follow the 仮定形 of a accentless verb, the last mora of such form is accented:
For accented verbs, no accent shift occurs:
For the spoken 命令形 of verbs with accentless accent, the last mora is accented:
For the written 命令形 of monograde verbs with accentless accent, whose root contains only 1 mora, the last mora is also accented:
For the written 命令形 of monograde and -suru verbs with accentless accent, whose root contains more than 1 mora, the penultimate mora is accented:
For spoken and written 命令形 of verbs with accented accent, the location of the accented mora is the same as that in the dictionary forms:
For the written 命令形 of monograde and -suru verbs with accented accent, whose root contains more than 1 mora, the location of the accented mora could, alternatively, be shifted back by up to 2 morae, until it reaches an independent mora (自立拍, see
Group P consists of と、や、よ. These particles do not alter the accent of the 命令形:
Three groups of auxiliaries that can trail dictionary forms of verbs:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | Dictionary form+auxiliary's accent | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group e +ようだ | Group f +だろう | Group g +まい | |||||||
| accentless | Monograde | 居る | いる | いるよꜜうだ | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. | いるだろꜜう | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. | いるまꜜい | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. |
| 腫れる | はれる | はれるよꜜうだ | はれるだろꜜう | はれるまꜜい | |||||
| 比べる | くらべる | くらべるよꜜうだ | くらべるだろꜜう | くらべるまꜜい | |||||
| 感じる | かんじる | かんじるよꜜうだ | かんじるだろꜜう | かんじるまꜜい | |||||
| -suru | 感ずる | かんずる | かんずるよꜜうだ | かんずるだろꜜう | かんずるまꜜい | ||||
| Pentagrade | 鳴る | なる | なるよꜜうだ | なるだろꜜう | なるまꜜい | ||||
| 洗う | あらう | あらうよꜜうだ | あらうだろꜜう | あらうまꜜい | |||||
| 行う | おこなう | おこなうよꜜうだ | おこなうだろꜜう | おこなうまꜜい | |||||
| accented | Monograde | 射る | いꜜる | いꜜるようだ | いꜜるだろう | いるまꜜい | |||
| 晴れる | はれꜜる | はれꜜるようだ | はれꜜるだろう | はれるまꜜい | |||||
| 調べる | しらべꜜる | しらべꜜるようだ | しらべꜜるだろう | しらべるまꜜい | |||||
| 信じる | しんじꜜる | しんじꜜるようだ | しんじꜜるだろう | しんじるまꜜい | |||||
| -suru | 信ずる | しんずꜜる | しんずꜜるようだ | しんずꜜるだろう | しんずるまꜜい | ||||
| Pentagrade | 成る | なꜜる | なꜜるようだ | なꜜるだろう | なるまꜜい | ||||
| 帰る | かꜜえる | かꜜえるようだ | かꜜえるだろう | かえるまꜜい | |||||
| 習う | ならꜜう | ならꜜうようだ | ならꜜうだろう | ならうまꜜい | |||||
| 手伝う | てつだꜜう | てつだꜜうようだ | てつだꜜうだろう | てつだうまꜜい | |||||
Three groups of auxiliaries that can trail 未然形 of verbs:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | 未然形+auxiliary's accent | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group h +せる・させる | Group i +ない | Group j +う・よう | |||||||
| accentless | Monograde | 居る | いる | いさせる | いない | いよꜜう | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. | ||
| 腫れる | はれる | はれさせる | はれない | はれよꜜう | |||||
| 比べる | くらべる | くらべさせる | くらべない | くらべよꜜう | |||||
| 感じる | かんじる | かんじさせる | かんじない | かんじよꜜう | |||||
| -suru | 感ずる | かんずる | |||||||
| Pentagrade | 鳴る | なる | ならせる | ならない | なろꜜう | The 未然形's last mora is accented. | |||
| 洗う | あらう | あらわせる | あらわない | あらおꜜう | |||||
| 行う | おこなう | おこなわせる | おこなわない | おこなおꜜう | |||||
| accented | Monograde | 射る | いꜜる | いさせꜜる | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. | いꜜない | The 未然形's last mora is accented. | いよꜜう | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. |
| 晴れる | はれꜜる | はれさせꜜる | はれꜜない | はれよꜜう | |||||
| 調べる | しらべꜜる | しらべさせꜜる | しらべꜜない | しらべよꜜう | |||||
| 信じる | しんじꜜる | しんじさせꜜる | しんじꜜない | しんじよꜜう | |||||
| -suru | 信ずる | しんずꜜる | |||||||
| Pentagrade | 成る | なꜜる | ならせꜜる | ならꜜない | なろꜜう | The 未然形's last mora is accented. | |||
| 帰る | かꜜえる | かえらせꜜる | かえらꜜない | かえろꜜう | |||||
| 習う | ならꜜう | ならわせꜜる | ならわꜜない | ならおꜜう | |||||
| 手伝う | てつだꜜう | てつだわせꜜる | てつだわꜜない | てつだおꜜう | |||||
Three groups of auxiliaries that can trail 連用形 of verbs:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | 連用形+auxiliary's accent | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group k +た・だ | Group l +たい | Group m +ます | |||||||
| accentless | Monograde | 居る | いる | いた | いたい | いまꜜす | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. | ||
| 腫れる | はれる | はれた | はれたい | はれまꜜす | |||||
| 比べる | くらべる | くらべた | くらべたい | くらべまꜜす | |||||
| 感じる | かんじる | かんじた | かんじたい | かんじまꜜす | |||||
| -suru | 感ずる | かんずる | |||||||
| Pentagrade | 鳴る | なる | なった | なりたい | なりまꜜす | ||||
| 洗う | あらう | あらった | あらいたい | あらいまꜜす | |||||
| 行う | おこなう | おこなった | おこないたい | おこないまꜜす | |||||
| accented | Monograde | 射る | いꜜる | いꜜた | If possible, the accent nucleus shifts back until it reaches a 自立拍. | いたꜜい | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. | いまꜜす | |
| 晴れる | はれꜜる | はꜜれた | はれたꜜい | はれまꜜす | |||||
| 調べる | しらべꜜる | しらꜜべた | しらべたꜜい | しらべまꜜす | |||||
| 信じる | しんじꜜる | しꜜんじた | しんじたꜜい | しんじまꜜす | |||||
| -suru | 信ずる | しんずꜜる | |||||||
| Pentagrade | 成る | なꜜる | なꜜった | なりたꜜい | なりまꜜす | ||||
| 帰る | かꜜえる | かꜜえった | かえりたꜜい | かえりまꜜす | |||||
| 習う | ならꜜう | ならꜜった | ならいたꜜい | ならいまꜜす | |||||
| 手伝う | てつだꜜう | てつだꜜった | てつだいたꜜい | てつだいまꜜす | |||||
Five groups of particles that can trail dictionary forms of adjectives:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | Dictionary form+particle's accent | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group Q +と +ほど | Group R +ね | Group S +のみ | Group T +か +かしら | Group U +だけ | |||||||
| accentless | 厚い | あつい | あついと あついほど | あついねꜜ | The particle's last mora is accented. | あついのꜜみ | The particle's first mora is accented. | あつꜜいか あつꜜいかしら | The dictionary form's penultimate mora is accented. | あついだけ | |
| 冷たい | つめたい | つめたいと つめたいほど | つめたいねꜜ | つめたいのꜜみ | つめたꜜいか つめたꜜいかしら | つめたいだけ | |||||
| 優しい | やさしい | やさしいと やさしいほど | やさしいねꜜ | やさしいのꜜみ | やさしꜜいか やさしꜜいかしら | やさしいだけ | |||||
| accented | 無い | なꜜい | なꜜいと なꜜいほど | なꜜいね | なꜜいのみ | なꜜいか なꜜいかしら | ないだけ | Deaccented. | |||
| 熱い | あつꜜい | あつꜜいと あつꜜいほど | あつꜜいね | あつꜜいのみ | あつꜜいか あつꜜいかしら | あついだけ | |||||
| 短い | みじかꜜい | みじかꜜいと みじかꜜいほど | みじかꜜいね | みじかꜜいのみ | みじかꜜいか みじかꜜいかしら | みじかいだけ | |||||
| 嬉しい | うれしꜜい | うれしꜜいと うれしꜜいほど | うれしꜜいね | うれしꜜいのみ | うれしꜜいか うれしꜜいかしら | うれしいだけ | |||||
The -ku 連用形 of accentless adjectives are also accentless:
The accent nucleus of the -ku 連用形 of accented adjectives is shifted one mora backward if posssible; OR, if the -ku form contains more than 3 morae, is the same as that of the dictionary form:
Group V consists of the following particles: て、は、も、ても. When a accentless -ku form combines with a Group-V particle, either the -ku form's penultimate mora is accented; OR, the -shiku form's antepenultimate mora is accented:
With は in particular, the accentless -ku form's last mora may, alternatively, accented:
Group V does not affect the accent nucleus of accented -ku forms:
Group W consists of the following particles: ば、ど、ども.
For accentless dictionary forms, the root's last mora is accented:
For accented dictionary forms, the accent nucleus shifts 1 mora backward if possible; OR if the -i, not -shii, forms contain more than 4 morae, the accent nucleus is the same as that of the dictionary form:
Four groups of auxiliaries that can trail dictionary forms of adjectives:
Notes are given where there's a change in accent.
| Dictionary form's accent | Dictionary form+auxiliary's accent | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group n +ようだ | Group o +だろう | Group p +です | Group q +らしい | |||||||
| accentless | 厚い | あつい | あついよꜜうだ | The auxiliary's first mora is accented. | あついだろꜜう | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. | あつꜜいです | The dictionary form's penultimate mora is accented. | あついらしꜜい | The auxiliary's penultimate mora is accented. |
| 冷たい | つめたい | つめたいよꜜうだ | つめたいだろꜜう | つめたꜜいです | つめたいらしꜜい | |||||
| 優しい | やさしい | やさしいよꜜうだ | やさしいだろꜜう | やさしꜜいです | やさしいらしꜜい | |||||
| accented | 無い | なꜜい | なꜜいようだ | なꜜいだろう | なꜜいです | ないらしꜜい | ||||
| 熱い | あつꜜい | あつꜜいようだ | あつꜜいだろう | あつꜜいです | あついらしꜜい | |||||
| 短い | みじかꜜい | みじかꜜいようだ | みじかꜜいだろう | みじかꜜいです | みじかいらしꜜい | |||||
| 嬉しい | うれしꜜい | うれしꜜいようだ | うれしꜜいだろう | うれしꜜいです | うれしいらしꜜい | |||||
The only member of Group r is う, and it uniquely combines with the -karo forms of adjectives. The mora ro in -karo is accented:
When a particle or auxiliary follows a phrase that ends in another particle, if that phrase has accentless accent, its last mora is accented:
Certain particles such as と、きり、しか、だけ may, alternatively, not alter the accentless phrase:
Otherwise, if that phrase has atamadaka or nakadaka accent, its accent is not altered:
The following list for Tokyo accent is not shown in the NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典, but slightly reworked from papers by Shiro Kori.[13] [11] A few patterns for missing particles and auxiliaries are inferred from the appendix アクセント to the Daijirin.
| Particles and auxiliaries | accentless noun | accented noun | accentless monograde verb | accentless pentagrade verb | accented monograde verb | accented pentagrade verb | accentless adjective | accented adjective | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 桜 さくら | 空 そꜜら | 浴びる あびる | 笑う わらう | 調べる しらべꜜる | 泳ぐ およꜜぐ | 赤い あかい | 白い しろꜜい | ||
| だけ だけの だけは だけが だけに だけだ | さくらだけ さくらだけの さくらだけꜜは さくらだけꜜが さくらだけꜜに さくらだけꜜだ | そらだけ そらだけの そらだけꜜは そらだけꜜが そらだけꜜに そらだけꜜだ そꜜらだけ そꜜらだけの そꜜらだけは そꜜらだけが そꜜらだけに そꜜらだけだ | あびるだけ あびるだけの あびるだけꜜは あびるだけꜜが あびるだけꜜに あびるだけꜜだ | わらうだけ わらうだけの わらうだけꜜは わらうだけꜜが わらうだけꜜに わらうだけꜜだ | しらべるだけ しらべるだけの しらべるだけꜜは しらべるだけꜜが しらべるだけꜜに しらべるだけꜜだ しらべꜜるだけ しらべꜜるだけの しらべꜜるだけは しらべꜜるだけが しらべꜜるだけに しらべꜜるだけだ | およぐだけ およぐだけの およぐだけꜜは およぐだけꜜが およぐだけꜜに およぐだけꜜだ およꜜぐだけ およꜜぐだけの およꜜぐだけは およꜜぐだけが およꜜぐだけに およꜜぐだけだ | あかいだけ あかいだけの あかいだけꜜは あかいだけꜜが あかいだけꜜに あかいだけꜜだ | しろいだけ しろいだけの しろいだけꜜは しろいだけꜜが しろいだけꜜに しろいだけꜜだ しろꜜいだけ しろꜜいだけの しろꜜいだけは しろꜜいだけが しろꜜいだけに しろꜜいだけだ | |
| らしい | さくららしꜜい | そららしꜜい そꜜららしい | あびるらしꜜい | わらうらしꜜい | しらべるらしꜜい しらべꜜるらしい | およぐらしꜜい およꜜぐらしい | あかいらしꜜい | しろいらしꜜい しろꜜいらしい | |
| ものか・もんか | あびるものꜜか | わらうものꜜか | しらべꜜる ものꜜか | およꜜぐ ものꜜか | |||||
| など | さくらなꜜど | そꜜらなど | あびるꜜなど あびꜜなど | わらうꜜなど わらいꜜなど | しらべꜜるなど しらべꜜなど | およꜜぐなど およꜜぎなど | あかꜜいなど あかꜜくなど あかいꜜなど あかくꜜなど | しろꜜいなど | |
| なんか なんて | さくらなꜜんか さくらなꜜんて | そꜜらなんか そꜜらなんて | |||||||
| なら ならば | さくらなꜜら さくらなꜜらば | そꜜらなら そꜜらならば | あびるꜜなら あびるꜜならば | わらうꜜなら わらうꜜならば | しらべꜜるなら しらべꜜるならば | およꜜぐなら およꜜぐならば | あかꜜいなら あかꜜいならば あかいꜜなら あかいꜜならば | しろꜜいなら しろꜜいならば | |
| なり（也） | さくらなꜜり | そꜜらなり | あびるꜜなり | わらうꜜなり | しらべꜜるなり | およꜜぐなり | あかꜜいなり あかいꜜなり | しろꜜいなり | |
| なり（形） なりに なりの | さくらなり さくらなりに さくらなりの | そらなり そらなりに そらなりの | あびるなり あびるなりに あびるなりの | わらうなり わらうなりに わらうなりの | しらべるなり しらべるなりに しらべるなりの | およぐなり およぐなりに およぐなりの | あかいなり あかいなりに あかいなりの | しろꜜいなり しろꜜいなりに しろꜜいなりの | |
| より | さくらよꜜり | そꜜらより | あびるꜜより あびるよꜜり | わらうꜜより わらうよꜜり | しらべꜜるより | およꜜぐより | あかꜜいより あかいよꜜり | しろꜜいより | |
| で では でも | さくらで さくらでꜜは さくらでꜜも | そꜜらで そꜜらでは そꜜらでも | |||||||
| へ へは へも | さくらへ さくらへꜜは さくらへꜜも | そꜜらへ そꜜらへは そꜜらへも | |||||||
| ほど ほどは ほどだ | さくらほど さくらほどꜜは さくらほどꜜだ | そꜜらほど そꜜらほどは そꜜらほどだ | あびるほど あびるほどꜜは あびるほどꜜだ | わらうほど わらうほどꜜは わらうほどꜜだ | しらべꜜるほど しらべꜜるほどは しらべꜜるほどだ | およꜜぐほど およꜜぐほどは およꜜぐほどだ | あかいほど あかいほどꜜは あかいほどꜜだ | しろꜜいほど しろꜜいほどは しろꜜいほどだ | |
| ね | さくらね さくらだね | そꜜらね そꜜらだね | あびるね あびてꜜね | わらうね わらってꜜね | しらべꜜるね しらべꜜてね | およꜜぐね およꜜいでね | あかいね | しろꜜいね | |
| よ (declarative) | さくらよ さくらだよ さくらだꜜよ | そꜜらよ そꜜらだよ | あびるよ あびるꜜよ | わらうよ わらうꜜよ | しらべꜜるよ | およꜜぐよ | あかいよ あかꜜいよ | しろꜜいよ | |
| よ (calling) | さくらよ | そꜜらよ | |||||||
| しか | さくらしか さくらꜜしか さくらしꜜか | そꜜらしか | あびるしか あびるꜜしか あびるしꜜか | わらうしか わらうꜜしか わらうしꜜか | しらべꜜるしか | およꜜぐしか | |||
| や | さくらや | そꜜらや | あびるꜜや あびるや | わらうꜜや わらうや | しらべꜜるや | およꜜぐや | あかꜜいや | しろꜜいや | |
| やら | さくらやꜜら | そꜜらやら | あびるꜜやら | わらうꜜやら | しらべꜜるやら | およꜜぐやら | あかꜜいやら | しろꜜいやら | |
| は | さくらは | そꜜらは | あびるꜜは あびꜜは あびるは | わらうꜜは わらいꜜは わらうは | しらべꜜるは しらꜜべは | およꜜぐは およꜜぎは | あかꜜいは | しろꜜいは | |
| か かと | さくらか さくらかꜜと さくらかと | そꜜらか そꜜらかと | あびるꜜか あびるか | わらうꜜか わらうか | しらべꜜるか | およꜜぐか | あかꜜいか | しろꜜいか | |
| かも | さくらかꜜも | そꜜらかも | あびるꜜかも | わらうꜜかも | しらべꜜるかも | およꜜぐかも | あかꜜいかも | しろꜜいかも | |
| も | さくらも | そꜜらも | あびるꜜも あびꜜも あびるも | わらうꜜも わらいꜜも わらうも | しらべꜜるも しらべꜜも | およꜜぐも およꜜぎも | あかꜜいも | しろꜜいも | |
| を | さくらを | そꜜらを | あびるꜜを あびるを | わらうꜜを わらうを | しらべꜜるを | およꜜぐを | あかꜜいを | しろꜜいを | |
| に には にも | さくらに さくらにꜜは さくらにꜜも | そꜜらに そꜜらには そꜜらにも | あびるꜜに あびるꜜには あびるꜜにも あびꜜに あびꜜには あびꜜにも あびるに あびるにꜜは あびるにꜜも | わらうꜜに わらうꜜには わらうꜜにも わらいꜜに わらいꜜには わらいꜜにも わらうに わらうにꜜは わらうにꜜも | しらべꜜるに しらべꜜるには しらべꜜるにも | およꜜぐに およꜜぐには およꜜぐにも | あかꜜいに あかꜜいには あかꜜいにも | しろꜜいに しろꜜいには しろꜜいにも | |
| に（～行く・来る） | あびに | わらいに | しらꜜべに | およꜜぎに | |||||
| さ (particle) | さくらさ | そꜜらさ | あびるꜜさ | わらうꜜさ | しらべꜜるさ | およꜜぐさ | あかꜜいさ | しろꜜいさ | |
| さ (adjectival suffix) | あかさ | しꜜろさ | |||||||
| の (genitive) | さくらの | そꜜらの | |||||||
| の（～もの・こと） のが のだ | さくらの さくらのꜜが さくらのꜜだ | そꜜらの そꜜらのが そꜜらのだ | あびるꜜの あびるꜜのが あびるꜜのだ | わらうꜜの わらうꜜのが わらうꜜのだ | しらべꜜるの しらべꜜるのが しらべꜜるのだ | およꜜぐの およꜜぐのが およꜜぐのだ | あかꜜいの あかꜜいのが あかꜜいのだ | しろꜜいの しろꜜいのが しろꜜいのだ | |
| の (explanatory) のだ ので のに のは のです | さくらなꜜの さくらなꜜのだ さくらなꜜので さくらなꜜのに さくらなꜜのは さくらなꜜのです | そꜜらなの そꜜらなのだ そꜜらなので そꜜらなのに そꜜらなのは そꜜらなのです | あびるꜜの あびるꜜのだ あびるꜜので あびるꜜのに あびるꜜのは あびるꜜのです | わらうꜜの わらうꜜのだ わらうꜜので わらうꜜのに わらうꜜのは わらうꜜのです | しらべꜜるの しらべꜜるのだ しらべꜜるので しらべꜜるのに しらべꜜるのは しらべꜜるのです | およꜜぐの およꜜぐのだ およꜜぐので およꜜぐのに およꜜぐのは およꜜぐのです | あかꜜいの あかꜜいのだ あかꜜいので あかꜜいのに あかꜜいのは あかꜜいのです あかいꜜの あかいꜜのだ あかいꜜので あかいꜜのに あかいꜜのは あかいꜜのです | しろꜜいの しろꜜいのだ しろꜜいので しろꜜいのに しろꜜいのは しろꜜいのです | |
| と (parallel) とか とは とも とで とばかり | さくらと さくらとꜜか さくらとꜜは さくらとꜜも さくらとꜜで さくらとꜜばかり さくらとばꜜかり | そꜜらと そꜜらとか そꜜらとは そꜜらとも そꜜらとで | あびるꜜと あびるꜜとか あびるꜜとは あびるꜜとも あびるꜜとで あびると あびるとꜜか あびるとꜜは あびるとꜜも あびるとꜜで | わらうꜜと わらうꜜとか わらうꜜとは わらうꜜとも わらうꜜとで わらうと わらうとꜜか わらうとꜜは わらうとꜜも わらうとꜜで | しらべꜜると しらべꜜるとか しらべꜜるとは しらべꜜるとも しらべꜜるとで | およꜜぐと およꜜぐとか およꜜぐとは およꜜぐとも およꜜぐとで | あかꜜいと あかꜜいとか あかꜜいとは あかꜜいとも あかꜜいとで あかいと あかいとꜜか あかいとꜜは あかいとꜜも あかいとꜜで | しろꜜいと しろꜜいとか しろꜜいとは しろꜜいとも しろꜜいとで | |
| と (quotative) | さくらと さくらだと さくらꜜと さくらだꜜと | そꜜらと そꜜらだと | あびると あびるꜜと | わらうと わらうꜜと | しらべꜜると | およꜜぐと | あかいと あかꜜいと | しろꜜいと | |
| と (conditional) | さくらだと さくらだꜜと | そꜜらだと | あびると あびるꜜと | わらうと わらうꜜと | しらべꜜると | およꜜぐと | あかいと あかꜜいと | しろꜜいと | |
| として | さくらとして | そꜜらとして | |||||||
| って | さくらって | そꜜらって | あびるꜜって | わらうꜜって | しらべꜜるって | およꜜぐって | あかꜜいって あかいꜜって | しろꜜいって | |
| な (exclamatory) | さくらだな | そꜜらだな | あびるな | わらうな | しらべꜜるな | およꜜぐな | あかいな | しろꜜいな | |
| な (prohibitive) | あびるꜜな | わらうꜜな | しらべꜜるな | およꜜぐな | |||||
| な (imperative) なさい | あびな あびなさꜜい | わらいな わらいなさꜜい | しらべな しらべなさꜜい | およぎな およぎなさꜜい | |||||
| から ("from") からは からが | さくらから さくらからꜜは さくらからꜜが | そꜜらから そꜜらからは そꜜらからが | |||||||
| から ("because") からは | さくらだꜜから さくらだꜜからは | そꜜらだから そꜜらだからは | あびるꜜから あびるꜜからは | わらうꜜから わらうꜜからは | しらべꜜるから しらべꜜるからは | およꜜぐから およꜜぐからは | あかꜜいから あかꜜいからは あかいꜜから あかいꜜからは | しろꜜいから しろꜜいからは | |
| が (case) | さくらが | そꜜらが | あびるꜜが あびるが | わらうꜜが わらうが | しらべꜜるが | およꜜぐが | あかꜜいが | しろꜜいが | |
| が (adversative) | さくらだꜜが | そꜜらだが | あびるꜜが | わらうꜜが | しらべꜜるが | およꜜぐが | あかꜜいが | しろꜜいが | |
| わ | さくらだꜜわ | そꜜらだわ | あびるꜜわ | わらうꜜわ | しらべꜜるわ | およꜜぐわ | あかꜜいわ | しろꜜいわ | |
| けど けれど けれども | さくらだꜜけど さくらだꜜけれど さくらだꜜけれども | そꜜらだけど そꜜらだけれど そꜜらだけれども | あびるꜜけど あびるꜜけれど あびるꜜけれども | わらうꜜけど わらうꜜけれど わらうꜜけれども | しらべꜜるけど しらべꜜるけれど しらべꜜるけれども | およꜜぐけど およꜜぐけれど およꜜぐけれども | あかꜜいけど あかꜜいけれど あかꜜいけれども あかいꜜけど あかいꜜけれど あかいꜜけれども | しろꜜいけど しろꜜいけれど しろꜜいけれども | |
| し | さくらだꜜし | そꜜらだし | あびるꜜし | わらうꜜし | しらべꜜるし | およꜜぐし | あかꜜいし あかいꜜし | しろꜜいし | |
| ぜ | さくらだぜ さくらだꜜぜ | そꜜらだぜ | あびるぜ あびるꜜぜ | わらうぜ わらうꜜぜ | しらべꜜるぜ | およꜜぐぜ | あかいぜ あかꜜいぜ | しろꜜいぜ | |
| ぞ | さくらだぞ さくらだꜜぞ | そꜜらだぞ | あびるぞ あびるꜜぞ | わらうぞ わらうꜜぞ | しらべꜜるぞ | およꜜぐぞ | あかいぞ あかꜜいぞ | しろꜜいぞ | |
| こそ | さくらこꜜそ | そꜜらこそ | |||||||
| かしら | さくらかꜜしら | そꜜらかしら | あびるꜜかしら | わらうꜜかしら | しらべꜜるかしら | およꜜぐかしら | あかꜜいかしら | しろꜜいかしら | |
| さえ | さくらさꜜえ | そꜜらさえ | あびるꜜさえ あびꜜさえ あびるさꜜえ あびさꜜえ | わらうꜜさえ わらいꜜさえ わらうさꜜえ わらいさꜜえ | しらべꜜるさえ しらべꜜさえ | およꜜぐさえ およꜜぎさえ | あかꜜいさえ あかꜜくさえ あかいさꜜえ あかくꜜさえ | しろꜜいさえ しꜜろくさえ しろꜜくさえ | |
| すら | さくらすꜜら | そꜜらすら | あびるすꜜら | わらうすꜜら | しらべꜜるすら | およꜜぐすら | |||
| のみ | さくらのꜜみ | そꜜらのみ | あびるのꜜみ あびるꜜのみ | わらうのꜜみ わらうꜜのみ | しらべꜜるのみ | およꜜぐのみ | あかいのꜜみ | しろꜜいのみ | |
| まで | さくらまꜜで | そꜜらまで | あびるまꜜで あびるꜜまで | わらうまꜜで わらうꜜまで | しらべꜜるまで | およꜜぐまで | あかいまꜜで | しろꜜいまで | |
| ごと ("every") ごとに ごとの | さくらごꜜと さくらごꜜとに さくらごꜜとの | そꜜらごと そꜜらごとに そꜜらごとの そらごꜜと そらごꜜとに そらごꜜとの | あびるごꜜと あびるごꜜとに あびるごꜜとの | わらうごꜜと わらうごꜜとに わらうごꜜとの | しらべꜜるごと しらべꜜるごとに しらべꜜるごとの | およꜜぐごと およꜜぐごとに およꜜぐごとの | あかいごꜜと あかいごꜜとに あかいごꜜとの | しろꜜいごと しろꜜいごとに しろꜜいごとの | |
| ごと ("and all…") | さくらごと | そらごと | |||||||
| くらい・ぐらい | さくらくꜜらい | そꜜらくらい そらくꜜらい | あびるくꜜらい | わらうくꜜらい | しらべꜜるくらい しらべるくꜜらい | およꜜぐくらい およぐくꜜらい | あかいくꜜらい | しろꜜいくらい しろいくꜜらい | |
| ばかり | さくらばꜜかり | そꜜらばかり そらばꜜかり | あびるばꜜかり | わらうばꜜかり | しらべꜜるばかり しらべるばꜜかり | およꜜぐばかり およぐばꜜかり | あかいばꜜかり | しろꜜいばかり しろいばꜜかり | |
| どころか どころの | さくらどꜜころか さくらどꜜころの | そꜜらどころか そꜜらどころの そらどꜜころか そらどꜜころの | あびるどꜜころか あびるどꜜころの | わらうどꜜころか わらうどꜜころの | しらべꜜるどころか しらべꜜるどころの しらべるどꜜころか しらべるどꜜころの | およꜜぐどころか およꜜぐどころの およぐどꜜころか およぐどꜜころの | あかいどꜜころか あかいどꜜころの | しろꜜいどころか しろꜜいどころの しろいどꜜころか しろいどꜜころの | |
| べき べし | あびるべꜜき あびるべꜜし | わらうべꜜき わらうべꜜし | しらべꜜるべき しらべꜜるべし しらべるべꜜき しらべるべꜜし | およꜜぐべき およꜜぐべし およぐべꜜき およぐべꜜし | |||||
| まい | あびるまꜜい | わらうまꜜい | しらべるまꜜい | およぐまꜜい | |||||
| みたい みたいだ みたいな | さくらみꜜたい さくらみꜜたいだ さくらみꜜたいな | そꜜらみたい そꜜらみたいだ そꜜらみたいな | あびるみꜜたい あびるみꜜたいだ あびるみꜜたいな | わらうみꜜたい わらうみꜜたいだ わらうみꜜたいな | しらべꜜるみたい しらべꜜるみたいだ しらべꜜるみたいな | およꜜぐみたい およꜜぐみたいだ およꜜぐみたいな | あかいみꜜたい あかいみꜜたいだ あかいみꜜたいな | しꜜろいみたい しꜜろいみたいだ しꜜろいみたいな | |
| ようだ ような ように | あびるよꜜうだ あびるよꜜうな あびるよꜜうに | わらうよꜜうだ わらうよꜜうな わらうよꜜうに | しらべꜜるようだ しらべꜜるような しらべꜜるように | およꜜぐようだ およꜜぐような およꜜぐように | あかいよꜜうだ あかいよꜜうな あかいよꜜうに | しろꜜいようだ しろꜜいような しろꜜいように | |||
| そう (reportative) そうだ | さくらだそꜜう さくらだそꜜうだ | そꜜらだそう そꜜらだそうだ | あびるそꜜう あびるそꜜうだ | わらうそꜜう わらうそꜜうだ | しらべꜜるそう しらべꜜるそうだ | およꜜぐそう およꜜぐそうだ | あかいそꜜう あかいそꜜうだ | しろꜜいそう しろꜜいそうだ | |
| そう (conjectural) そうだ そうな そうに | あびそう あびそうだ あびそうな あびそうに あびそꜜう あびそꜜうだ あびそꜜうな あびそꜜうに | わらいそう わらいそうだ わらいそうな わらいそうに わらいそꜜう わらいそꜜうだ わらいそꜜうな わらいそꜜうに | しらべそꜜう しらべそꜜうだ しらべそꜜうな しらべそꜜうに | およぎそꜜう およぎそꜜうだ およぎそꜜうな およぎそꜜうに | あかそう あかそうだ あかそうな あかそうに あかそꜜう あかそꜜうだ あかそꜜうな あかそꜜうに | しろそꜜう しろそꜜうだ しろそꜜうな しろそꜜうに | |||
| ながら | さくらながら さくらなꜜがら | そらながら そらなꜜがら | あびながら あびなꜜがら | わらいながら わらいなꜜがら | しらべなꜜがら | およぎなꜜがら | |||
| つつ | あびꜜつつ あびつꜜつ | わらいꜜつつ わらいつꜜつ | しらべꜜつつ しらべつꜜつ | およぎꜜつつ およぎつꜜつ | |||||
| たい たかった たくて たければ | あびたい あびたꜜい あびたꜜかった あびたꜜくて あびたꜜければ | わらいたい わらいたꜜい わらいたꜜかった わらいたꜜくて わらいたꜜければ | しらべたꜜい しらべたꜜかった しらべたꜜくて しらべたꜜければ | およぎたꜜい およぎたꜜかった およぎたꜜくて およぎたꜜければ | |||||
| たがる | あびたがꜜる あびたがる | わらいたがꜜる わらいたがる | しらべたがꜜる | およぎたがꜜる | |||||
| がてら | あびがꜜてら | わらいがꜜてら | しらべがꜜてら | およぎがꜜてら | |||||
| た・だ たら・だら たり・だり たっけ・だっけ | あびた あびたꜜら あびたꜜり あびたꜜっけ | わらった わらったꜜら わらったꜜり わらったꜜっけ | しらꜜべた しらꜜべたら しらꜜべたり しらꜜべたっけ | およꜜいだ およꜜいだら およꜜいだり およꜜいだっけ | |||||
| て・で てだけ・でだけ てばかり・でばかり ては・では ても・でも てから・でから ている・でいる てる・でる てた・でた てて・でて てみる・でみる | あびて あびてだけ あびてばꜜかり あびてꜜだけ あびてꜜばかり あびてꜜは あびてꜜも あびてꜜから あびている あびてる あびてꜜた あびてꜜて あびてみꜜる | わらって わらってだけ わらってばꜜかり わらってꜜだけ わらってꜜばかり わらってꜜは わらってꜜも わらってꜜから わらっている わらってる わらってꜜた わらってꜜて わらってみꜜる | しらꜜべて しらꜜべてだけ しらꜜべてばかり しらꜜべては しらꜜべても しらꜜべてから しらꜜべている しらꜜべてる しらꜜべてた しらꜜべてて しらꜜべてみる | およꜜいで およꜜいでだけ およꜜいでばかり およꜜいでは およꜜいでも およꜜいでから およꜜいでいる およꜜいでる およꜜいでた およꜜいでて およꜜいでみる | |||||
| てない・でない | あびてなꜜい | わらってなꜜい | しらꜜべて なꜜい | およꜜいで なꜜい | |||||
| だ だった だって | さくらだ さくらだꜜった さくらだꜜって | そꜜらだ そꜜらだった そꜜらだって | |||||||
| だろう | さくらだろꜜう | そꜜらだろう | あびるだろꜜう あびるꜜだろう | わらうだろꜜう わらうꜜだろう | しらべꜜるだろう | およꜜぐだろう | あかいだろꜜう あかꜜいだろう あかいꜜだろう | しろꜜいだろう | |
| でしょう | さくらでしょꜜう | そꜜらでしょう | あびるでしょꜜう あびるꜜでしょう | わらうでしょꜜう わらうꜜでしょう | しらべꜜるでしょう | およꜜぐでしょう | あかいでしょꜜう あかꜜいでしょう | しろꜜいでしょう | |
| です でした | さくらでꜜす さくらでꜜした | そꜜらです そꜜらでした | あかꜜいです あかꜜいでした あかいꜜです あかいꜜでした | しろꜜいです しろꜜいでした | |||||
| ます ました ましょう ません | あびまꜜす あびまꜜした あびましょꜜう あびませꜜん | わらいまꜜす わらいまꜜした わらいましょꜜう わらいませꜜん | しらべまꜜす しらべまꜜした しらべましょꜜう しらべませꜜん | およぎまꜜす およぎまꜜした およぎましょꜜう およぎませꜜん | |||||
| う・よう | あびよꜜう | わらおꜜう | しらべよꜜう | およごꜜう | |||||
| うと・ようと | あびよꜜうと あびようと | わらおꜜうと わらおうと | しらべよꜜうと | およごꜜうと | |||||
| せる・させる せた・させた | あびさせる あびさせた | わらわせる わらわせた | しらべさせꜜる しらべさꜜせた | およがせꜜる およがꜜせた | |||||
| れる・られる れた・られた | あびられる あびられた | わらわれる わらわれた | しらべられꜜる しらべらꜜれた | およがれꜜる およがꜜれた | |||||
| ない ないで なかった | あびない あびなꜜい あびなꜜいで あびなꜜかった | わらわない わらわなꜜい わらわなꜜいで わらわなꜜかった | しらべꜜない しらべꜜないで しらべꜜなかった | およがꜜない およがꜜないで およがꜜなかった | |||||
| ずに | あびずに | わらわずに | しらべꜜずに | およꜜがずに およがꜜずに | |||||
| ざる | あびざꜜる | わらわざꜜる | しらべざꜜる | およがざꜜる | |||||
| ば | あびれꜜば | わらえꜜば | しらべꜜれば | およꜜげば | |||||
| ど ども | あびれꜜど あびれꜜども | わらえꜜど わらえꜜども | しらべꜜれど しらべꜜれども | およꜜげど およꜜげども | |||||
| かった | あかꜜかった | しꜜろかった しろꜜかった | |||||||
| かろう | あかかろꜜう | しꜜろかろう | |||||||
| く くは くも | あかく あかくꜜは あかくꜜも あかꜜく あかꜜくは あかꜜくも | しꜜろく しꜜろくは しꜜろくも しろꜜく しろꜜくは しろꜜくも | |||||||
| くて | あかꜜくて あかくꜜて | しꜜろくて しろꜜくて | |||||||
| くなる | あかくなꜜる | しꜜろく なꜜる しろꜜく なꜜる | |||||||
| くない | あかくなꜜい | しꜜろく なꜜい しろꜜく なꜜい しろくなꜜい | |||||||
| ければ | あかꜜければ | しꜜろければ しろꜜければ | |||||||
| がる | あかがꜜる | しろがꜜる | |||||||
Like 助動詞 ("auxiliaries"), 補助動詞 also modify the accent of the verbs they trail. According to the Daijirin and Kori (2020):[11]
The NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典, the Daijirin and Shiro Kori do not explicitly describe the two irregular verbs する and 来る (the NHK dictionary only describes derived ～ずる verbs). The following are patterns for these two verbs which, respectively, are similar to those of accentless monograde verbs and accented monograde verbs (the aforementioned monograde verbs 居る and 射る, and 感ずる, are mentioned here again for comparison).
| 為る する[14] | 感ずる かんずる[15] | 居る いる[16] | 来る くꜜる[17] | 射る いꜜる[18] | ||
| 命令形 | しろ せꜜよ | かんじろꜜ[19] かんぜꜜよ | いろꜜ いよꜜ | こꜜい | いꜜろ いꜜよ | |
| +ます | しまꜜす | かんじまꜜす | いまꜜす | きまꜜす | いまꜜす | |
| +う・よう | しよꜜう | かんじよꜜう | いよꜜう | こよꜜう | いよꜜう | |
| +た +て | した して | かんじた かんじて | いた いて | きꜜた きꜜて | いꜜた いꜜて | |
| +せる・させる +れる・られる | させる される | かんじさせる かんじられる | いさせる いられる | こさせꜜる こられꜜる | いさせꜜる いられꜜる | |
| +ない +なかった | しない しなꜜかった | かんじない かんじなꜜかった | いない いなꜜかった | こꜜない こꜜなかった | いꜜない いꜜなかった | |
| +ば | すれꜜば | かんじれꜜば | いれꜜば | くꜜれば | いꜜれば |
The so-called "potential form" (可能形, kanōkei) of する is the monograde verb できꜜる.
The following table lists some compounds of numerals and their accent.
| ×1 | ×10 | ×100 | ×1,000 | ×10,000 | ×100,000 | ×1,000,000 | ×10,000,000 | ×100,000,000 | ×1,000,000,000 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | いちꜜ | じゅꜜう | ひゃくꜜ | せꜜん | いちまꜜん | じゅうまꜜん | ひゃくまꜜん | いっせんまꜜん | いちꜜおく | じゅꜜうおく | |||
| 2 | にꜜ | にꜜじゅう | にひゃくꜜ | にせꜜん | にまꜜん | にꜜじゅうまん | にじゅうまꜜん | にじゅꜜうまん | にひゃくまꜜん | にせんまꜜん | にꜜおく | ||
| 3 | さん | さꜜんじゅう | さꜜんびゃく | さんぜꜜん | さんまꜜん | さꜜんじゅうまん | さんじゅうまꜜん | さんじゅꜜうまん | さꜜんびゃくまん | さんびゃくまꜜん | さんぜんまꜜん | さꜜんおく | |
| 4 | よꜜん | よꜜんじゅう | よꜜんひゃく | よんせꜜん | よんまꜜん | よꜜんじゅうまん | よんじゅうまꜜん | よんじゅꜜうまん | よꜜんひゃくまん | よんひゃくまꜜん | よんせんまꜜん | よꜜんおく | |
| しꜜ | しじゅꜜう | しひゃくꜜ | |||||||||||
| 5 | ごꜜ | ごじゅꜜう | ごひゃくꜜ | ごせꜜん | ごまꜜん | ごじゅうまꜜん | ごじゅꜜうまん | ごひゃくまꜜん | ごせんまꜜん | ごꜜおく | |||
| 6 | ろくꜜ | ろくじゅꜜう | ろっぴゃくꜜ | ろくせꜜん | ろくまꜜん | ろくじゅうまꜜん | ろくじゅꜜうまん | ろっぴゃくまꜜん | ろくせんまꜜん | ろくꜜおく | |||
| 7 | なꜜな | ななꜜじゅう | ななꜜひゃく | ななせꜜん | ななまꜜん | ななじゅうまꜜん | ななじゅꜜうまん | ななひゃくまꜜん | ななせんまꜜん | ななꜜおく | |||
| しちꜜ | しちじゅꜜう | しちひゃくꜜ | しちせꜜん | しちまꜜん | しちじゅうまꜜん | しちじゅꜜうまん | しちひゃくまꜜん | しちせんまꜜん | しちꜜおく | ||||
| 8 | はちꜜ | はちじゅꜜう | はっぴゃくꜜ | はっせꜜん | はちまꜜん | はちじゅうまꜜん | はちじゅꜜうまん | はっぴゃくまꜜん | はっせんまꜜん | はちꜜおく | |||
| 9 | きゅꜜう | きゅꜜうじゅう | きゅꜜうひゃく | きゅうせꜜん | きゅうまꜜん | きゅꜜうじゅうまん | きゅうじゅうまꜜん | きゅうじゅꜜうまん | きゅꜜうひゃくまん | きゅうひゃくまꜜん | きゅうせんまꜜん | きゅꜜうおく | |
| くꜜ | くじゅꜜう | くまꜜん | |||||||||||
Compounds from 11-19:
Additional rules for compounding:
Compounds formed from one or more numerals and a counter often obey certain rules. Counters can be categorized into five groups, and multiple subgroups, depending on the resulting accent:
A more comprehensive index of counters and their groups entitled 助数詞索引 can be found in the NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典.
In standard Japanese, about 47% of words are unaccented and around 26% are accented on the ante-penultimate mora. However, this distribution is highly variable between word categories. For example, 70% of native nouns are unaccented, while only 50% of kango and only 7% of loanwords are unaccented. In general, most 1–2 mora words are accented on the first mora, 3–4 mora words are unaccented, and words of greater length are almost always accented on one of the last five morae.[20]
The following chart gives some examples of minimal pairs of Japanese words whose only differentiating feature is pitch accent. Phonemic pitch accent is indicated with the phonetic symbol for downstep, pronounced as /[ꜜ]/.
| Romanization | Accent on first mora | Accent on second mora | Accentless | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| hashi はし | pronounced as //haꜜsi/ [háɕì]/ háshì | Japanese: 箸 | chopsticks | pronounced as //hasiꜜ/ [hàɕí]/ hàshí | Japanese: 橋 | bridge | pronounced as //hasi/ [hàɕí]/ hàshí | Japanese: 端 | edge | |
| hashi-ni はしに | pronounced as //haꜜsini/ [háɕìɲì]/ háshì-nì | Japanese: 箸に | at the chopsticks | pronounced as //hasiꜜni/ [hàɕíɲì]/ hàshí-nì | Japanese: 橋に | at the bridge | pronounced as //hasini/ [hàɕīɲī]/ hàshi-ni | Japanese: 端に | at the edge | |
| ima いま | pronounced as //iꜜma/ [ímà]/ ímà | Japanese: 今 | now | pronounced as //imaꜜ/ [ìmá]/ ìmá | Japanese: 居間 | living room | ||||
| kaki かき | pronounced as //kaꜜki/ [kákì]/ kákì | Japanese: 牡蠣 | oyster | pronounced as //kakiꜜ/ [kàkí]/ kàkí | Japanese: 垣 | fence | pronounced as //kaki/ [kàkí]/ kàkí | Japanese: 柿 | persimmon | |
| kaki-ni かきに | pronounced as //kaꜜkini/ [kákìɲì]/ kákì-nì | Japanese: 牡蠣に | at the oyster | pronounced as //kakiꜜni/ [kàkíɲì]/ kàkí-nì | Japanese: 垣に | at the fence | pronounced as //kakini/ [kàkīɲī]/ kàki-ni | Japanese: 柿に | at the persimmon | |
| sake さけ | pronounced as //saꜜke/ [sákè]/ sákè | Japanese: 鮭 | salmon | pronounced as //sake/ [sàké]/ sàké | Japanese: 酒 | alcohol, sake | ||||
| nihon にほん | pronounced as //niꜜhoɴ/ [ɲíhòɴ̀]/ níhòn | Japanese: 二本 | two sticks of | pronounced as //nihoꜜɴ/ [ɲìhóɴ̀]/ nìhón | Japanese: 日本 | Japan | ||||
In isolation, the words hashi はし pronounced as //hasiꜜ// hàshí "bridge" and hashi pronounced as //hasi// hàshí "edge" are pronounced identically, starting low and rising to a high pitch. However, the difference becomes clear in context. With the simple addition of the particle ni "at", for example, pronounced as //hasiꜜni// hàshí-nì "at the bridge" acquires a marked drop in pitch, while pronounced as //hasini// hàshi-ni "at the edge" does not. However, because the downstep occurs after the first mora of the accented syllable, a word with a final long accented syllable would contrast all three patterns even in isolation: an accentless word nihon, for example, would be pronounced pronounced as /[ɲìhōɴ̄]/, differently from either of the words above. In 2014, a study recording the electrical activity of the brain showed that native Japanese speakers mainly use context, rather than pitch accent information, to contrast between words that differ only in pitch.[21]
This property of the Japanese language allows for a certain type of pun, called, combining two words with the same or very similar sounds but different pitch accents and thus meanings. For example, kaeru-ga kaeru pronounced as //kaeruɡa kaꜜeru// . These are considered quite corny, and are associated with .
Since any syllable, or none, may be accented, Tokyo-type dialects have N+1 possibilities, where N is the number of syllables (not morae) in a word, though this pattern only holds for a relatively small N.
| 0 (no accent) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ||||
| 2 | — | |||
| 3 | — | |||
Accent and tone are the most variable aspect of Japanese dialects. Some have no accent at all; of those that do, it may occur in addition to a high or low word tone.[22]
The dialects that have a Tokyo-type accent, like the standard Tokyo dialect described above, are distributed over Hokkaido, northern Tohoku, most of Kanto, most of Chūbu, Chūgoku and northeastern Kyushu. Most of these dialects have a more-or-less high tone in unaccented words (though first mora has low tone, and following morae have high tone); an accent takes the form of a downstep, after which the tone stays low. But some dialects, for example, dialects of northern Tohoku and eastern Tottori, typically have a more-or-less low tone in unaccented words; accented syllables have a high tone, with low tone on either side, rather like English stress accent. In any case, the downstep has phonological meaning and the syllable followed by downstep is said to be "accented".
Keihan (Kyoto–Osaka)-type dialects of Kansai and Shikoku have nouns with both patterns: That is, they have tone differences in unaccented as well as accented words, and both downstep in some high-tone words and a high-tone accent in some low-tone words. In the neighboring areas of Tokyo-type and Keihan-type such as parts of Kyushu, northeastern Kanto, southern Tohoku, around Fukui, around Ōzu in Ehime and elsewhere, nouns are not accented at all.
In western and southern Kyushu dialects (pink area on the map on the right), a high tone falls on a predictable syllable, depending only on whether the noun has an accent. This is termed a two-pattern (nikei) system, as there are two possibilities, accented and not accented. For instance, in the Kagoshima dialect unaccented nouns have a low tone until the final syllable, at which point the pitch rises. In accented nouns, however, the penultimate syllable of a phonological word has a high tone, which drops on the final syllable. (Kagoshima phonology is based on syllables, not on morae.) For example, irogami 'colored paper' is unaccented in Kagoshima, while kagaribi 'bonfire' is accented. The ultimate or penultimate high tone will shift when any unaccented grammatical particle is added, such as nominative -ga or ablative -kara:
pronounced as /[iɾoɡamí], [iɾoɡamiɡá], [iɾoɡamikaɾá]/
pronounced as /[kaɡaɾíbi], [kaɡaɾibíɡa], [kaɡaɾibikáɾa]/
In the Shuri dialect of the Okinawan language, unaccented words are high tone; accent takes the form of a downstep after the second syllable, or after the first syllable of a disyllabic noun.[23] However, the accents patterns of the Ryukyuan languages are varied, and do not all fit the Japanese patterns.
Nikei accents are also found in parts of Fukui and Kaga in Hokuriku region (green area on map).
In Miyakonojō, Miyazaki (small black area on map), there is a single accent: all phonological words have a low tone until the final syllable, at which point the pitch rises. That is, every word has the pitch pattern of Kagoshima . This is called an (one-pattern) accent. Phonologically, it is the same as the absence of an accent (white areas on map), and is sometimes counted as such, as there can be no contrast between words based on accent. However, speakers of -type dialects feel that they are accenting a particular syllable, whereas speakers of unaccented dialects have no such intuition.
Near the old capital of Kyoto, in Kansai, Shikoku, and parts of Hokuriku (the easternmost Western Japanese dialects), there is a more innovative system, structurally similar to a combination of these patterns. There are both high and low initial tone as well as the possibility of an accented mora. That is, unaccented nouns may have either a high or a low tone, and accented words have pitch accent in addition to this word tone. This system will be illustrated with the Kansai dialect of Osaka.
| !accented mora | one mora | two-mora word | three-mora word | gloss | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| high tone | (no accent) | /ki/ [kíí] | /kiɡa/ [kíɡá] | /kikara/ [kíkáɾá] | 'mind' | |
| — | /kaze/ [kázé] | /kazeɡa/ [kázéɡá] | 'wind' | |||
| — | /jameru/ [jáméɾɯ́] | 'stop' | ||||
| 1 | /hiꜜ/ [çíì] | /hiꜜɡa/ [çíɡà] | /hiꜜkara/ [çíkàɾà] | 'day' | ||
| — | /kaꜜwa/ [káwà] | /kaꜜwaɡa/ [káwàɡà] | 'river' | |||
| — | /siꜜroi/ [ɕíɾòì] | 'be white' | ||||
| 2 | — | (none) | /ataꜜma/ [átámà] | 'head' | ||
| 3 | — | (few words, if any) | ||||
| low tone | (no accent) | /˩ki/ [kìí] | /˩kiɡa/ [kìɡá] | /˩kikara/ [kìkàɾá] | 'tree' | |
| — | /˩ito/ [ìtó] | /˩itoɡa/ [ìtòɡá] | 'thread' | |||
| — | /˩okiru/ [òkìɾɯ́] | 'to get up' | ||||
| 2 | — | /˩haruꜜ/ [hàɾɯ́ ~ hàɾɯ̂] | /˩haruꜜɡa/ [hàrɯ́ɡà] | 'spring' | ||
| — | /˩kusuꜜri/ [kɯ̀sɯ́ɾì] | 'medicine' | ||||
| 3 | — | /˩maQtiꜜ/ [màttɕí ~ màttɕî] | 'match' | |||
| Low tone is considered to be marked (transcribed pronounced as //˩//). Not all patterns are found: In high-tone words, accent rarely falls on the last mora, and in low-tone words it cannot fall on the first. One-mora words are pronounced with long vowels. | ||||||
Accented high-tone words in Osaka, like atama 'head', are structurally similar to accented words in Tokyo, except that the pitch is uniformly high prior to the downstep, rather than rising as in Tokyo.[24] As in Tokyo, the subsequent morae have low pitch. Unaccented high-tone words, such as sakura 'cherry tree', are pronounced with a high tone on every syllable, and in following unaccented particles:
High tone pronounced as //ataꜜma//, accent on ta: pronounced as /[átámà], [átámàɡà], [átámàkàɾà]/
High tone pronounced as //sakura//, no accent: pronounced as /[sákɯ́ɾá], [sákɯ́ɾáɡá], [sákɯ́ɾákáɾá]/
Low-tone accented words are pronounced with a low pitch on every mora but the accented one. They are like accented words in Kagoshima, except that again there are many exceptions to the default placement of the accent. For example, tokage is accented on the ka in both Osaka and Kagoshima, but omonaga 'oval face' is accented on mo in Osaka and na in Kagoshima (the default position for both dialects); also, in Osaka the accented is fixed on the mo, whereas in Kagoshima it shifts when particles are added. Unaccented low-tone words such as usagi 'rabbit' have high pitch only in the final mora, just as in Kagoshima:
Low tone pronounced as //˩omoꜜnaɡa//, accent on mo: pronounced as /[òmónàɡà], [òmónàɡàɡà], [òmónàɡàkàɾà]/
Low tone pronounced as //˩usaɡi//, no accent: pronounced as /[ɯ̀sàɡí], [ɯ̀sàɡìɡá], [ɯ̀sàɡìkàɾá]/
Hokuriku dialect in Suzu is similar, but unaccented low-tone words are purely low, without the rise at the end:
pronounced as //˩usaɡi//
pronounced as /[ɯ̀sàŋì], [ɯ̀sàŋìŋà], [ɯ̀sàŋìkàɾà]/;sakura has the same pattern as in Osaka.
In Kōchi, low-tone words have low pitch only on the first mora, and subsequent morae are high:
pronounced as //˩usaɡi//
pronounced as /[ɯ̀sáɡí], [ɯ̀sáɡíɡá], [ɯ̀sáɡíkáɾá]/.
The Keihan system is sometimes described as having 2n+1 possibilities, where n is the number of morae (up to a relatively small number), though not all of these actually occur. From the above table, there are three accent patterns for one-mora words, four (out of a theoretical 2n+1 = 5) for two-mora words, and six (out of a theoretical 2n+1 = 7) for three-mora words.
There are regular correspondences between Tokyo-type and Keihan-type accents. The downstep on high-tone words in conservative Keihan accents generally occurs one syllable earlier than in the older Tokyo-type accent. For example, kokoro 'heart' is pronounced as //kokoꜜro// in Tokyo but pronounced as //koꜜkoro// in Osaka; kotoba 'word' is pronounced as //kotobaꜜ// in Tokyo but pronounced as //kotoꜜba// in Osaka; kawa 'river' is pronounced as //kawaꜜ// in Tokyo but pronounced as //kaꜜwa// in Osaka. If a word is unaccented and high-tone in Keihan dialects, it is also unaccented in Tokyo-type dialects. If a two-mora word has a low tone in Keihan dialects, it has a downstep on the first mora in Tokyo-type dialects.
In Tokyo, all nakadaka verbs have the downstep on the second to last mora, except in cases of defective mora. This is the last mora of the verb stem, as in pronounced as //shiroꜜi// 'be white' and pronounced as //okiꜜru// 'get up'. In Kansai, verbs have high- and low-tone paradigms as nouns do. High-tone verbs are either unaccented or are accented on the penultimate mora. Low-tone verbs are either unaccented or accented on the final syllable, triggering a low tone on unaccented suffixes. In Kyoto, verbal tone varies irregularly with inflection, a situation not found in more conservative dialects, even more conservative Kansai-type dialects such as that of Kōchi in Shikoku.[25]
Japanese pitch accent also varies in how it interacts with syllables and morae. Kagoshima is a purely syllabic dialect, while Osaka is moraic. For example, the low-tone unaccented noun shinbun 'newspaper' is pronounced as /[ɕìm̀bɯ́ɴ́]/ in Kagoshima, with the high tone spread across the entire final syllable bun, but in Osaka it is pronounced as /[ɕìm̀bɯ̀ɴ́]/, with the high tone restricted to the final mora n. In Tokyo, accent placement is constrained by the syllable, though the downstep occurs between the morae of that syllable. That is, a stressed syllable in Tokyo dialect, as in Japanese: 貝 kai 'shell' or Japanese: 算 san 'divining rod', will always have the pattern pronounced as //kaꜜi/ [káì], /saꜜɴ/ [sáɴ̀]/, never pronounced as /