Variations in pitch within a word. The placement of pitch accent can give different meanings to otherwise similar words.
23
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6answers
947 views
How important is one's pitch when speaking Japanese?
I'm aware of some words in Japanese that have the same reading but different meaning depending on the pitch of each syllable. The canonical example is はし (hashi), which can mean either chopsticks ...
10
votes
4answers
451 views
Pronunciation of す in です and the end of ます verbs
I've always been curious about the pronunciation of the す in です and at the end of 〜ます verbs. Most commonly the "u" sound is inaudible, but sometimes by some people it's more pronounced, and some ...
4
votes
2answers
431 views
Why do English sources for learning Japanese leave out pitch?
I always thought that besides Kanji, one of the most difficult things about Japanese was its immense amount of homophones. For example, 花 (はな), which means flower, and 鼻 (also はな) which means nose. In ...
4
votes
1answer
144 views
Pronunciation of ううん
The pitch contour of the interjection ううん has been described as high, low, middle. Alternatively, it has been described as a falling-rising tone. In either case, this appears to be unique in ...
