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According to the NHK Accent dictionary, the pitch accent for ふわふわ can be:

(a) ふわふわ {HLLL} or (b) ふわふわ {LHHH}

It is (a) when する is attached and it is (b) when used as a simple adjective.

First, are the following examples correct?

ふわふわ{HLLL}したケーキ   

ふわふわ{LHHH}のケーキ

Secondly, do other giongo words also follow this pattern? Or is it a case by case basis?

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  • 6
    [さらさら]{LHHH}の [さらさら]{HLLL}した [つるつる]{LHHH}の [つるつる]{HLLL}した ... わっ、ホントだ! 😲
    – Chocolate
    Oct 2, 2018 at 13:26
  • I'm hesitant to call it a 'rule' as it's not clear to me whether other words behave differently. I'm still investigating :)
    – kandyman
    Oct 2, 2018 at 14:38
  • 1
    @Chocolateさんをびっくりさせる質問はやっと来たのですか?
    – psosuna
    Oct 2, 2018 at 20:53

1 Answer 1

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Yes, this is a generic characteristic of giongo. According to this article from NHK放送文化研究所, the pitch accent of an onomatopoeia is mainly determined by whether it modifies the following word adjectivally or adverbially.

擬音語・擬態語は形容のしかたによってはアクセントが変わることがあります。「ツルツルと滑る」は頭高(あたまだか)で一番初めの「ツ」のあとで下がります。「ツルツルになる」では平板アクセントになります。形容動詞的な使い方では頭高、副詞的に使われる場合には平板アクセントが多く見られます。

Words like ぎりぎり is pronounced like [ぎりぎり]【HLLL】 when it's used as a giongo adverb, but like [ぎりぎり]【LHHH】 when it's used as a non-giongo adverb.

  • 会議に[ぎりぎり]【LHHH】間に合った。(non-giongo)
  • 歯を[ぎりぎり]【HLLL】(と)食いしばった。(giongo)
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  • That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks.
    – kandyman
    Oct 3, 2018 at 11:34

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