This article is an non-exhaustive list of rules that govern the Tokyo pitch accent of verbs and adjectives. For other rules, see Japanese pitch accent rules.
Verbs Verbs are either unaccented or minimally penultimate-accented. If the penultimate mora is deficient, an accent shift may occur: : , :
: , : : : , : : , :
Verbs derived from other verbs, adjectives and nouns tend to mirror those words' accent: From verbs:
From adjectives:
From common nouns:
From adjectival nouns:
Verbal-infinitive–verb compounds Compound verbs can be created by combining an infinitive modifier and a head verb. In general, if the infinitive is originally unaccented, the compound verb is accented:
If the infinitive is originally accented, the compound verb traditionally tends to be unaccented, but nowadays they can also be accented:
Some infinitives with intense meanings may bear the accent, although they are increasingly regularized as penultimate-accented:
Adjectival-stem–verb compounds Most adjectival-stem–verb compound verbs are accented, although some are increasingly unaccented: , , , etc.
Compounds with are traditionally unaccented and increasingly accented:, , , etc.
Noun–verb compounds Most noun–verb compound verbs are accented, often with rendaku:
S‑irregular verbs verbs can behave as single words, or simply nouns followed by the verb . See for more.
‑zuru, ‑jiru Verbs ending in ‑zuru have interchangeable variants with ‑jiru.
If the Sino-Japanese stem contains or , the verb tends to be unaccented, although some verbs are increasingly accented as well: , , , etc.
If the Sino-Japanese stem contains , the verb are equally likely unaccented and accented: , , , etc.
If the native stem contains , the verb is almost always accented:
‑suru, ‑su Some verbs ending in ‑suru have interchangeable variants with ‑su.
If the Sino-Japanese stem is unimoraic, the verb is always accented:
If the Sino-Japanese stem ends in , the verb is traditionally unaccented and increasingly accented as well: ,
If the Sino-Japanese stem is bimoraic without , the verb tends to be accented: , ,
The majority of other verbs are merely words or phrases followed by the unaccented verb . In these cases, only the words' or phrases' accent is relevant:
But: :
The polite structure o‑<infinitive> suru in particular is unaccented:
Conjugational verbal forms As mentioned above, verbs, specifically imperfect /, are either unaccented or minimally penultimate-accented. Other forms behave similarly, with some caveats: Quinquegrade work the same as imperfect conclusives. Non-quinquegrade infinitives, on the other hand, are one mora shorter than their imperfect conclusives, which may result in initial-accented unimoraic infinitives, or infinitives with accent shifts. of unaccented imperfect conclusives are final-accented, which only surfaces before a particle. Imperatives with ‑ro work like single words and are penultimate-accented, but those with ‑yo work like separate penultimate-accented imperatives followed by the particle yo. are simply verbs derived from verbs, and work as mentioned above. The classical pronunciations listed here are traditional, with western vowel fusions. See for more.
Verb type Modern conclusive Modern attributive Classical attributive Classical conclusive Infinitive Modern eastern imperative Classical imperative Potential Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular Unigradified
Verbal conclusive/attributive + particle Particles following conclusives or attributives can be classified into the following groups (asterisked particles belong to more than one group): Recessive and preaccenting (RecPre): ka / ka i / ka na (doubt) / ka ne, ga* (case, conjunction), sa, shi, ze*, zo*, to* (quotation, enumeration) / to ka* / to te* / tte / to mo*, na (prohibition), ni*, no / no de / n de / no ni, wa* (), mo*, ya, yo*, , o*, kara, sae*, shika*, sura*, da no, nado / na n te, nara(ba), nari*, yara, yori* / yori ka* / yori mo*, kashira, keredo (mo) Recessive and unaccented (Rec0): ga* (case), to*, na (admiration), ni*, wa* (), mo*, yo*, o*, kiri, shika*, dake*, hodo, mono no Unlike the final-accented mono below, mono no is generally unaccented. See for more. Recessive and final-accented (Rec−1): ze*, zo*, ne, yue*, mono Recessive and initial-accented (Rec+1): ka na (exclamation), sae*, sura*, to ka* / to te* / to mo*, nā, nari*, nē, nomi, made, mon, yue*, yori* / yori ka* / yori mo*, kurai* / gurai*, dokoro (ka)*, bakari* Mon is the reduced form of the final-accented mono above. It is necessarily initial-accented as its last mora is . Dominant and initial-accented (Dom+1): kurai* / gurai*, dokoro (ka)*, bakari* Dominant and deaccenting (DomDe): dake*
Verb type Modern conclusive/​attributive RecPre Rec0 Rec−1 Rec+1 Dom+1 DomDe Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular Unigradified
Verbal conclusive/attributive + auxiliary Auxiliaries following conclusives or attributives can be classified into the following groups (asterisked auxiliaries belong to more than one group): Recessive and preaccenting (RecPre): no (da) / n da Recessive and preaccenting and penultimate-accented (RecPre−2): Modern: darō*, deshō*, no desu / n desu Classical: nari Recessive and initial-accented (Rec+1): sō (da), yō (da), mitai (da) Recessive and penultimate-accented (Rec−2): Modern: darō*, deshō*, rashī* Classical: beshi*, rashi*, maji*, ran* / ramu* Recessive and antepenultimate-accented (Rec−3): Dominant and penultimate-accented: Modern: mai, rashī* Classical: beshi*, rashi*, maji*, ran* / ramu* Dominant or type-preserving, and unaccented or initial-accented: mai to Recessive or dominant, antepenultimate-accented, classical: gotoshi
Verb type Modern conclusive/​attributive RecPre RecPre−2 Rec+1 Rec−2 Dom−2 mai to gotoshi Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular Unigradified
Darō and deshō It is possible to use the different behavior types and accent types of darō and deshō for slightly different meanings: "I think" (more subjective; deshōs accent is suppressed):
"Maybe" (less subjective, but still allowing for doubt; deshōs accent surfaces):
Verbal infinitive + particle Particles following infinitives can be classified into the following groups (asterisked particles belong to more than one group): Recessive and preaccenting (RecPre): Modern: , sae*, tsutsu*, ni (other uses), mo Classical: te* Recessive and unaccented (Rec0): Modern: te / de, ni (purpose) The gerundive te/de triggers various sound changes (see ). Classical: te* The classical gerundive te does not trigger sound changes. Recessive and initial-accented (Rec+1): sae*, tsutsu*, / cha(a) / / ja(a) / te mo / de mo / te 'te / te 'cha(a) / de 'te / de 'cha(a) / te 'tari / de 'tari / te 'tara(ba) / de 'tara(ba) / te 'ya / de 'ya / te 'yo / de 'yo / te 'n no / de 'n no / te 'n ni / de 'n ni / te 'n ne / de 'n ne / te 'n de / de 'n de / te 'rya(a) / de 'rya(a) / tari / dari / tara(ba) / dara(ba) The representative tari/dari and the conditional tara(ba)/dara(ba) trigger the same sound changes as te/de. When te/de is followed by the subsidiary iru (see ), it can result in various initial-accented contractions:
Dominant and initial-accented (Dom+1): na, tsutsu*, gatera, nagara* Type-preserving, and unaccented or initial-accented (TypPres0+1): nagara*
Verb type Infinitive RecPre Rec0 Rec+1 Dom+1 TypPres0+1 Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular Unigradified
Verbal infinitive + auxiliary Auxiliaries following infinitives can be classified into the following groups (asterisked auxiliaries belong to more than one group): Recessive and unaccented (Rec0): ta / da The perfect conclusive/attributive ta/da triggers various sound changes (see ). Recessive and preaccenting (RecPre), classical: ki, tsu, tari* The classical perfect tari does not trigger sound changes. Recessive and penultimate-accented (Rec−2): Modern: tarō / darō Pseudo-classical: taru / daru Classical: tari*, ken* / kemu* Recessive and initial-accented (Rec+1): te 'ta / de 'ta / te 'n da / de 'n da When te/de is followed by the subsidiary iru (see ), it can result in various initial-accented contractions:
Dominant and preaccenting (DomPre), classical: nu, tashi* Dominant and penultimate-accented (Dom−2): Modern: tai* / tagaru*, masu(ru) / mashō / masen, nasai, nikui, yasui Classical: tashi*, ken* / kemu* Type-preserving, and unaccented or penultimate-accented (TypPres0−2): tai* / tagaru* Type-preserving, and unaccented or initial-accented (TypPres0+1): sō (da)
Verb type Infinitive Rec0 RecPre Rec−2 Rec+1 DomPre Dom−2 TypPres0−2 TypPres0+1 Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular Unigradified
‑tarō/‑darō vs ‑ta 'rō/‑da 'rō As shown above, ‑tarō/‑darō are prescribed as single recessive and penultimate-accented forms. In actual speech however, they are more likely to be contractions of ‑ta darō/‑da darō, which can be transcribed as ‑ta 'rō/‑da 'rō. The accent in this case is slightly different; compare:
itarō: (the most prominent accent is on ) ita darō → ita 'rō: (the most prominent accent is on )
itarō: (the most prominent accent is on ) ita darō → ita 'rō: (the most prominent accent is still on )
Verbal imperative + particle There is only one group of particles following imperatives. Since all imperatives are accented, the accent type of these particles does not surface: Recessive: to, ya, yo
Verb type Imperative Recessive Unaccented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​n‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified Accented Modern quinquegradeClassical quadrigrade/​r‑irregular Modern unigradeClassical unigrade/​bigrade Quinquegradified S‑irregular Quinquegradified Unigradified K‑irregular
Verbal provisional, classical verbal concessive, classical verbal hypothetical and classical ‑ri perfect