Appendix F — Pitch Accent Quick Reference
Japanese is a pitch-accent language, not a stress-accent language like English. Where English uses loudness and vowel reduction to mark emphasis, Japanese uses relative pitch — the melody of high and low morae within a word. This appendix explains the notation system used throughout 道 and gives you the core patterns you need for Stage 1.
F.1 The Notation System
Every vocabulary item in this book carries a circled number after the kana reading. That number tells you where the downstep occurs — the mora after which pitch drops from high to low.
- ⓪ = 平板型（へいばんがた）— no downstep anywhere. Pitch rises after the first mora and stays high, even when particles follow.
- ① = 頭高型（あたまだかがた）— downstep after mora 1. The first mora is high; everything after it is low.
- ② = downstep after mora 2. The first mora is low, the second is high, and pitch drops from the third mora onward.
- ③ = downstep after mora 3. Pitch rises, stays high through mora 3, then drops.
- And so on for longer words.
The rule for reading these numbers is always the same: the pitch drops immediately after the mora indicated by the number. If the number is ⓪, it never drops.
One additional rule applies to every pattern except ①: the first mora of a word is low and the second mora is high. This initial low-to-high rise is a near-universal feature of Tokyo-standard Japanese. The only exception is 頭高型 words, where the first mora begins high and the second drops.
F.2 The Four Noun Patterns
Japanese nouns follow exactly four pitch-accent patterns. Every noun in the language falls into one of these categories.
頭高型（あたまだかがた）— ①
Pattern: H-L-L-L...
The first mora is high. Every mora after it is low. This is the only pattern where the word begins high.
| 語 | アクセント | 意味 |
|---|---|---|
| あめ | ① | 雨（あめ）rain |
| いのち | ① | 命（いのち）life |
| はし | ① | 箸（はし）chopsticks |
| うみ | ① | 海（うみ）sea |
| メガネ | ① | 眼鏡（めがね）glasses |
With a particle: あめが → 「HL-L」 — the particle が is low, continuing the drop.
中高型（なかだかがた）— ②③ etc.（3拍以上の語）
Pattern: L-H...-L
Pitch starts low, rises to high, stays high through the middle of the word, then drops before the final mora or morae. This pattern only exists in words of three or more morae, because there must be room for a rise, a plateau, and a fall.
| 語 | アクセント | 意味 |
|---|---|---|
| たまご | ② | 卵（たまご）egg |
| おとこ | ③ | 男（おとこ）man |
| おんがく | ① | 音楽（おんがく）music |
| こころ | ② | 心（こころ）heart, mind |
Note: for a three-mora word, ② is 中高型 — the pitch drops before the final mora. Compare this to 尾高型 below.
With a particle: たまごが → 「LHL-L」 — pitch is already low before the particle arrives.
尾高型（おだかがた）— downstep number = mora count
Pattern: L-H...H（particle で drop）
This is the trickiest pattern for learners. In isolation, an 尾高型 word sounds identical to 平板型 — pitch rises after the first mora and stays high to the end. The difference only appears when a particle follows: 尾高型 drops on the particle, while 平板型 stays high.
| 語 | アクセント | 拍数 | 意味 |
|---|---|---|---|
| はし | ② | 2拍 | 橋（はし）bridge |
| やま | ② | 2拍 | 山（やま）mountain |
| おとうと | ④ | 4拍 | 弟（おとうと）younger brother |
| いもうと | ④ | 4拍 | 妹（いもうと）younger sister |
With a particle: はしが → 「LH-L」 — the drop falls on が. Compare to 平板型 はし⓪ + が → 「LH-H」 — no drop.
The key diagnostic: if you hear a drop on the particle, the word is 尾高型. If the particle stays high, it is 平板型.
平板型（へいばんがた）— ⓪
Pattern: L-H...H（particles も high）
No downstep anywhere. Pitch rises after the first mora and remains high through the word and any following particles. This is the single most common pattern in Japanese — roughly 60% of the vocabulary is 平板型.
| 語 | アクセント | 意味 |
|---|---|---|
| さくら | ⓪ | 桜（さくら）cherry blossom |
| あめ | ⓪ | 飴（あめ）candy |
| ともだち | ⓪ | 友達（ともだち）friend |
| せんせい | ⓪ | 先生（せんせい）teacher |
| にほんご | ⓪ | 日本語（にほんご）Japanese language |
With a particle: さくらが → 「LHHH-H」 — everything stays high after the initial rise.
F.3 How to Read Accent Markings in This Book
When you encounter a vocabulary entry like this:
たまご② — 卵 — egg
The process is:
- Count the morae: た・ま・ご = 3拍.
- The number ② means the pitch drops after mora 2.
- Build the pattern: mora 1 is low (initial rise rule), mora 2 is high, mora 3 is low → L-H-L.
- If a particle follows, it will also be low because the drop already happened.
For ⓪:
さくら⓪ — 桜 — cherry blossom
- Count the morae: さ・く・ら = 3拍.
- ⓪ means no drop.
- Pattern: L-H-H, and particles stay high too → L-H-H-H.
For ①:
うみ① — 海 — sea
- Count: う・み = 2拍.
- ① means drop after mora 1.
- Pattern: H-L. Particles are also low → H-L-L.
F.4 Minimal Pairs
Pitch accent creates minimal pairs — words with identical segments but different meanings, distinguished only by melody. These are common and important.
| 語 | アクセント | 意味 | 語 | アクセント | 意味 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| あめ | ① | 雨 rain | あめ | ⓪ | 飴 candy |
| はし | ① | 箸 chopsticks | はし | ② | 橋 bridge |
| かき | ① | 柿 persimmon | かき | ⓪ | 牡蠣 oyster |
| さけ | ① | 鮭 salmon | さけ | ⓪ | 酒 alcohol |
| はな | ② | 花 flower | はな | ⓪ | 鼻 nose |
| かみ | ① | 神 god | かみ | ② | 紙 paper |
| にわ | ⓪ | 庭 garden | にわ | ① | 二羽 two (birds) |
| くも | ① | 蜘蛛 spider | くも | ⓪ | 雲 cloud |
In context, most of these pairs are disambiguated by grammar or situation. But when you hear a Japanese speaker say あめ with a sharp drop on the first mora, they mean rain. When the pitch rises and stays level, they mean candy. Training your ear to notice this difference is the point.
F.5 Pitch Accent and Conjugation
Verbs and い-adjectives have their own accent rules that interact with conjugation. When a verb conjugates — say from 辞書形 to て形 or ます形 — the accent pattern can shift. For example:
- たべる⓪ → たべます④
- かく① → かきます③
The full system for predicting these shifts involves rules about verb accent classes and conjugation types. This is covered in detail in Stage 2. For now, learn each conjugated form as you encounter it, and pay attention to the accent markings provided in the vocabulary lists.
い-adjectives show similar behavior: the accent can move when forms like くない or かった are added.
F.6 Practical Advice for Stage 1
You do not need to produce perfect pitch accent at this stage. Here is what you should actually do:
Listen for the melody. When you hear native speech, pay attention to the rise and fall of pitch within words. Do not focus on stress or loudness — those are English habits. Focus on high and low.
Learn to hear minimal pairs. The table in F.4 is your starting point. Find audio recordings of these pairs and listen until you can reliably distinguish them. This is a listening skill before it is a speaking skill.
Use the numbers as a map. When you learn a new word, glance at the accent number. Build the pattern in your mind: where does it go up, where does it come down? You do not need to obsess over this, but noticing it consistently will train your internal model of Japanese prosody over time.
When in doubt, guess 平板型. If you have no idea what the accent of a word is and you need to say it, go with ⓪ — pitch rises after the first mora and stays high. This is correct more often than any other single guess, because 平板型 is the most common pattern. You will not always be right, but you will be wrong less often than with any other default.
Do not let pitch accent become a source of anxiety. Native speakers from different regions of Japan use different pitch-accent systems. 関西弁 reverses many of the patterns described here. The system in this book reflects 標準語 — the standard language based on the Tokyo dialect — but even within Tokyo, there is variation. Pitch accent is a feature worth learning, not a trap to fear.
The accent markings throughout this book are there so that when you are ready to refine your pronunciation, the information is already in front of you. Use them at whatever pace feels right.