Japanese Pitch Accent Dictionary

What is pitch accent?

Japanese pitch accent is a system where each mora (a syllable-like unit) in a word is pronounced at a relatively high or low pitch. Unlike stress in English, this isn't optional flavour: getting the pitch wrong can change a word's meaning entirely, or simply make your speech sound unnatural to a native listener. Linguists group Japanese words into four pitch accent patterns: heiban (平板, "flat"), atamadaka (頭高, "head-high"), nakadaka (中高, "middle-high"), and odaka (尾高, "tail-high").

Each diagram below shows the pitch of a 4-mora word (plain dots) plus the particle that follows it, shown in parentheses. Notice how heiban and odaka look identical until that final particle, which is exactly why the distinction is easy to miss.

平板 Heiban (flat)

Drop point: none

    ┌─●───●───●──(●)
──○─┘

頭高 Atamadaka (head-high)

Drop point: after mora 1

──●─┐
    └─○───○───○──(○)

中高 Nakadaka (middle-high)

Drop point: mid-word

    ┌─●───●─┐
──○─┘       └─○──(○)

尾高 Odaka (tail-high)

Drop point: after the word (only on the following particle)

    ┌─●───●───●─┐
──○─┘           └(○)

Example: 橋 vs 端

Both words are written はし and look identical in plain text, so the only thing that tells a listener "bridge" apart from "edge" is the pitch pattern -- which is exactly why pitch accent matters for comprehension, not just pronunciation.

Look up 橋 (bridge) on JapanDict

Look up 端 (edge/end) on JapanDict

Or go to the JapanDict homepage

Data source

Pitch accent data on JapanDict comes from the Kanjium dataset and does not cover every word in the dictionary. Words without Kanjium data will not show a pitch accent pattern.

FAQ: Frequently asked questions

Does JapanDict show pitch accent for every word?

No. Coverage depends on the Kanjium dataset. Words not in Kanjium will not show a pattern.

What pitch accent notation system does JapanDict use?

The standard Tokyo/NHK system with numbered drop points (e.g., [0] for heiban, [1] for atamadaka).

Is JapanDict free to use?

Yes, JapanDict is free. It is supported by advertising.

See also: JapanDict FAQ