Japanese Day 6 – Pitch Accent and “Please”

Today we are looking at two things, first a quick dip into the whole world of pitch accent, which I really think is something we need to be aware of, even if we can’t hear it yet.

Then we will also look at how you can say “please” as the Japanese are a very polite society, so its always good to know the different ways to say please.

Japanese Pitch Accent – Intonation

Pitch accent is a pretty advanced topic and skill when it comes to Japanese and trying to hear it may be really difficult for you a lot of you.

However, I really think it is important to quickly skim over its existence and go through a few things you can look out for as you develop your skills in the language. I really think the sooner you know about this phenomenon, the better.

What Is Pitch Accent?

Pitch accent is tricky to explain to English speakers, as we don’t have it. It’s not quite the same as placing emphasis on a certain word in a sentence like how we might do, and it’s not as extreme as the tonal sounds you might find in some other languages.

Basically how you sound out the individual parts of a word is important.

I am sure you have noticed from learning hiragana the Japanese words are made up of individual sounds. Just think of any word and how they are said – su-shi, to-fu, wa-sa-bi.

However, the pitch at which you say these individual sounds within a word can affect the meaning of the word.

If you imagine a monotone sounding way of speaking …Japanese is the opposite. You can make the pitch go up or down as you say the individual sounds of the word. This is the basic concept of pitch accent and every word follows one of the 4 patterns (we will look at them below).   

A lot of the time you can get this wrong. This is why I think this area is not really taught to learners. If we say things in a monotone way, or with the wrong pitch, a Japanese native will still understand us.

However, there are some words where this does matter. It will not take you long to notice that some words sound the same, but mean different things. Just think of the English “to, two and too” …same words …but different.  

This is easy to spot when written, but harder to hear when spoke. This is the same for Japanese, they will have different kanji when written …but when it comes to hearing them …they have different pitches!

This is why the pitch is so important, if you get this wrong; you are effectively saying the wrong word.

The classic example is:

箸- Chop Stick

橋  – Bridge

These are totally different words in English and Japanese, and clearly different Kanji so what’s the confusion? …well, they both pronounced Ha-chi. 

The way to tell them apart is the intonation …the pitch is ever so slightly different between the two.

Of course context is also huge here, if you are in a restaurant and you say “can I have 2 bridges” …they are going to know you got the pitch wrong and actually meant “chop sticks”. However the reality is that native speakers do speak in a way where they make the subtle difference in pitch, which is enough to change the meaning of the word.

The 4 Pitch Patterns

To be honest, knowing these patterns at this early stage isn’t really needed, but it’s still good to be aware of them.

We are only a few days into studying the language, so really even hearing the individual words is going to tough at this point, let alone the pitch.

However, here are the 4 pitch patterns:

1. 頭高 (atamadaka) – High-Low

2. 中高 (nakadaka) – Low-High-Low

3. 尾高 (odaka) – Low-High

4. 平板 (heiban) – Flat.

When you are listening, just try and see if you can notice how words are said they are all going to fall into one of these 4. When you look up words in the dictionary, they are also going to usually show you the correct pattern. It can be good to pay attention to this. However, I would just pay more attention to what you are hearing in your immersion and try and notice how people pronounce things.

You don’t have obsess over it and get it perfect, but just trying to recognise that there is a certain pitch will help you a lot.  

Pitch Patterns and Local Dialects 

You have maybe heard of different dialects of Japanese, such as standard Japanese and Tokyo dialect, which are the same thing and then the Kansai dialect. 

While these dialects may use some different words for things, just like dialects in any other language, a lot of the differences boil down to pitch accent.

This is also kind of why we don’t need to worry too much about pitch accent as a learner. We can go to Japan and get it wrong and we will probably just sound like we have a funny mix of dialects. We will still be understood, in the exact same way we understand an English learner who speaks with a bit of a funny accent.  

Why Is Pitch Accent Ignored In Textbooks?

A lot of text books and courses tend to totally ignore the concept of pitch accent in Japanese, and I kind of get it.

Most of these methods of teaching are trying to keep things really simple and they kind of avoid a lot of things so you don’t get too confused (although I think this backfires).

This is also why they just try and teach you some polite phrases, rather than explaining that there is a whole formal and informal way of speaking and how you can change this depending on who you are talking to.

The reality is that these courses don’t expect you to really get far in the language, so why bother telling you about an advanced concept like pitch accent.

However, as we are going to be doing a lot of listening, it is important to know about it. Even if we can’t quite grasp it, or maybe never master it, at least we are on the lookout for it and know it is a thing. 

How To Hear Pitch Accent

The best thing you can do is just listen to a lot. The plan here is to do lots of immersion, so you should be on the right path, but really you need to listen properly.

Listen to how the words are said and see if you can start to spot the 4 different pitches. It really isn’t easy, but at least if you are trying, you will start to notice it.

You will actually probably notice it more when you hear someone who doesn’t speak Japanese properly, the pronunciation will just sound a little off to you.

It will also help if you try and say the words out loud. While we are not focusing on speaking at the minute, I am sure you are all saying a few words out loud every now and again. I tend to do this when going through my anki words. I read some of them out loud and it helps me recognise them. If you are doing this too, just try and focus on the correct pronunciation …which means the correct pitch.     

Should You try An Learn Pitch Accent?

When it comes to learning pitch accent, this is a tough one. I think you are better off just trying to notice it, rather than actively learn it.

If you really wanted to and sit down and learn the pitch for every word, you certainly can, but I think you will be better off just listening to a lot of Japanese and just noticing it.

Eventually the way the words sound will be like second nature to you and so long as you try and copy how people say things when you speak, then you should really have the correct pitch by “accident” from all the repeated exposure.

Saying “Please” In Japanese

Knowing what “please” is in Japanese is always going to be a good thing to know and understand. They have a polite culture and of course there is more than one way to do things.

ください – Kudosai

ください can be used as “please” or even “please give me” and is generally used when you are asking for something you are entitled to and is generally used with people equal to you or below in the whole honorific system.

(If you are not sure where you sit in this system, assume you are at the bottom and speak “up” to everyone, which means you use the most polite language you know)  

This word is derived from the verbくださる (kudasaru) – Give Me,  so it is often more seen as “please give me” and is also really only used for actual objects. You wouldn’t use this when asking for an explanation.   

You will see it in a number of different contexts from fairly casual to making formal commands. This is exactly why we have to spend a lot of time immersing in Japanese. The more we listen, the more we will get a feel for when it is right to use this. 

You can also use this word with verbs in the Te-form, but we will be covering that at a later date.

 おください – Okudosai

You may also hear this with the O in front of it, which just makes it a little more polite and honorific.

You will see this O being added to a lot of things, such as food and really it is a sign of respect towards whatever you are saying. So in this instance you are kind of respectfully saying please, kind of in a more refine way, but ultimately it means the same thing.

お願いします- Onegaishimasu 

Another,more formal way of saying please isお願いします(onegaishimasu). It is more likely be to be used with strangers or someone higher in the society than you and will also be used to request more abstract things (such as an explanation, it can be seen more as  “please explain to me…”)

 It is also used when you are requesting a favour, or something you can’t really do yourself. 

If you are ever in doubt, just use this version of please as it is more polite, but  as I already said, the more you immerse, the more you will start to get a feel for what one should be used in different situations. 

(Return To: The Full List of All The Japanese Lessons)

Today’s Vocabulary

文章 (ぶんしょう) – Writing/Sentence

東京 (とうきょう) –  Tokyo

映画 (えいが) – Movie

警官 (けいかん) – Police Officer

ご飯 (ごはん)  – Cooked Rice

箸 (はし) –  Chopstick

漢字 (かんじ) –  Kanji

居る (いる)  – To Be/ To Exist

Today’s Immersion Videos

It is taking me time to find/add more immersion videos. This section will be updated shortly!

(Go To The Next Lesson: Day 7 – The の (No) Particle)