Understand and Practice Japanese Accent to Speak Like A Native
Accent is a key to speak Japanese well but unfortunately it requires a lot of practice to master.
In this article, I want to outline the patterns of Japanese accents with some examples so I can help you:
- Understand word accent in Japanese
- Learn the patterns and rules of accents
- Practice accents to improve your speaking
Hope this post can demystify how Japanese accent works :)
Understanding Word Accent in Japanese
Japanese is a language with pitch accents.
The accent is used in each word and there are number of characteristics in Japanese accent.
- Accent is expressed by a slightly higher pitch (higher tone)
- Accent is quite subtle compared to English accent
- Putting accent at wrong letter may change the meaning of a word
- No accent would sound better than incorrect accent
Take a look at an example word below to understand the above 4 points.
I indicate an accent with capital letters here.
Example | かみ (紙) | かみ (神) |
|---|---|---|
| Pronunciation | ka-MI | KA-mi |
| Meaning | paper | god |
If you are not sure which word has accent at which letter, then just pronounce flat “ka-mi” (same pitch). People would understand it based on the context.
Native speakers sometimes make mistakes with accent or simply learnt it wrong, so don’t stress yourself too much.
4 Patterns of Accent in Japanese
There are 4 accent patterns in Japanese pronunciation for words.
| No | Name | Pattern |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Atamadaka (頭高): High First | High-Low |
| 2 | Nakadaka (中高): High Middle | Low-High-Low |
| 3 | Odaka (尾高): High End | Low-High, Low |
| 4 | Hiraita (平板): Low First High to End | Low-High, High |
It is recommended that you learn these 4 patterns and practice controlling pitches.
Let’s look at some examples for each pattern.
1 Atamadaka (頭高): High First
The first letter is pronounced with higher pitch, then the second letter with lower (neutral) pitch.
| 2 letters | 3 letters |
|---|---|
| はる HA-ru (spring) | いつか I-tsu-ka (someday) |
| あき A-ki (autumn) | せたい SE-ta-i (household) |
| ねこ NE-ko (cat) | きれい KI-re-i (clean) |
| へび HE-bi (snake) | ちしき CHI-shi-ki (knowledge) |
| たつ TA-tsu (stand up) | みかん MI-ka-n (mandarin orange) |
| かつ KA-tsu (win) | かくり KA-ku-ri (isolation) |
| まつ MA-tsu (wait) | せかい SE-ka-i (world) |
| かう KA-u (keep i.e. pet) | むがい MU-ga-i (harmless) |
| きる KI-ru (cut) | まゆげ MA-yu-ge (eyebrow) |
2 Nakadaka (中高): High Middle
The first and the last letters with low (neutral) pitch, but higher pitch for all the letters in the middle (for word with 3 or more letters).
| 3 letters | 4 letters |
|---|---|
| 図書館 to-SHO-kan (library) | ひらがな hi-RA-GA-na |
| すこし su-KO-shi (little or few) | のみもの no-MI-MO-no (drinks) |
| つよい tsu-YO-i (strong) | たべもの ta-BE-MO-no (food) |
| うたう u-TA-u (sing) | がくせい ga-KU-SE-i (student) |
| あるく a-RU-ku (walk) | しらべる ta-BE-ru (investigate) |
| たべる ta-BE-ru (eat) | たのしい ta-NO-SHI-i (fun) |
| なげる na-GE-ru (throw) | うれしい u-RE-SHI-i (glad) |
3 Odaka (尾高): High End then Low
The first letter is pronounced with lower (neutral) pitch, then the rest with higher pitch.
Any word after Odaka word is pronounced with low pitch. I will show an example after the table.
| 2 letters | 3 letters |
|---|---|
| なつ na-TSU (summer) | あがる a-GA-RU (go up) |
| ふゆ hu-YU (winter) | まける ma-KE-RU (lose) |
| いぬ i-NU (dog) | とまる to-MA-RU (stop) |
| もの mo-NO (thing) | かたな ka-TA-NA (blade) |
| おく o-KU (put) | きずな ki-ZU-NA (bond) |
| なく na-KU (cry) | いのり i-NO-RI (pray) |
| かう ka-U (buy) | くもり ku-MO-RI (cloudy) |
| きる ki-RU (wear) | なまえ na-MA-E (name) |
Note that the sound after Odaka word is pronounced with a low pitch. Examples here:
- なつ に なる: na-TSU ni NA-ru (“ni” is low pitch)
- かう かも しれない: ka-U ka-mo shi-RE-NA-i (“ka” is low pitch)
- かたな が ほしい: ka-TA-NA ga ho-SHI-i (“ga” is low pitch)
4 Hiraita (平板): High End then High
Similar to Odaka, the first letter is pronounced with lower (neutral) pitch, then the rest with higher pitch.
However, any word after Hiraita word is pronounced with high pitch. This makes difference from Odaka.
| 2 letters | 3 letters |
|---|---|
| はし ha-SHI (edge) | おかね o-KA-NE (money) |
| きみ ki-MI (you) | くすり ku-SU-RI (medicine) |
| みち mi-CHI (way) | しごと shi-GO-TO (work) |
| とり to-RI (bird) | おとな o-TO-NA (adult) |
| さけ sa-KE (alcohol) | でんわ de-NN-WA (phone) |
The sound after Hiraita word is pronounced with a high pitch. Examples here:
- みち が ひろい: mi-CHI GA hi-RO-i (“GA” is high pitch)
- とり を みる: to-RI O Mi-ru (“O” is high pitch)
- くすり に たよる: ku-SU-RI NI ta-YO-ru (“NI” is high pitch)
Understanding the Differences of Odaka and Hiraita
I’m sure you are confused between Odaka and Hiraita (low to high pitch accent). I am also confused lol
To clarify the diferences, I’m showing a couple of words which have exactly the same pronunciation but one is Odaka and the other is Hiraita.
| Word | はし ha-SHI (bridge) | はし ha-SHI (edge) |
|---|---|---|
| Phrase | はし に ある | はし に ある |
| Romaji | ha-SHI ni A-ru | ha-SHI NI A-ru |
| Accent | “ni” is lower pitch than “SHI” (Odaka) | “NI” is higher pitch than “SHI” (Hiraita) |
| Meaning | on the bridge | on the edge |
| Word | きみ ki-MI (egg york) | きみ ki-MI (you) |
|---|---|---|
| Phrase | きみ が すき | きみ が すき |
| Romaji | ki-MI ga su-KI | ki-MI GA su-KI |
| Accent | “ga” is lower pitch than “MI” (Odaka) | “GA” is higher pitch than “MI” (Hiraita) |
| Meaning | I like egg york. | I like you. |
| Word | はな ha-NA (flower) | はな ha-NA (nose) |
|---|---|---|
| Phrase | はな が きれい | はな が きれい |
| Romaji | ha-NA ga KI-re-i | ha-NA GA KI-re-i |
| Accent | “GA” is higher pitch than “MI” (Hiraita) | “ga” is lower pitch than “MI” (Odaka) |
| Meaning | flower is beautiful | nose is beautiful |
Summary
In this post, I explained 4 patterns of Japanese accents.
- 1 Atamadaka (頭高): High First
- 2 Nakadaka (中高): High Middle
- 3 Odaka (尾高): High End then Low
- 4 Hiraita (平板): High End then High
If you don’t know the right accent of any word, try to pronounce it flat because it sounds much better than saying it with wrong accent.
In fact, native Japanese also doesn’t know or make mistakes on accents. Some people just learn it wrong or not even realise they say with incorrect accent.
So, don’t stress yourself too much but keep practicing so you get to speak with correct accents :)