Is Japanese Pitch Accent Worth Learning?

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The videos I mentioned in this video:
The Very Basics of Japanese Pitch Accent | 2 Rules and 4 Patterns
• The Very Basics of Jap...
The Pitch Accent of Verbs in Japanese | Verb Conjugation |
• The Pitch Accent of Ve...
みなさん、こんにちは。
It's often said that pitch accent changes the meaning of words like "ame" and “ame” (rain/candy) and "hashi" and “hashi” (chopsticks/bridge). That is true, but it’s just one function of pitch accent. There's more to it than that.
By learning more about this, you can gain a detailed understanding of pitch accent, and then make an informed decision about whether it’s worth it for you to study. If you do decide you would like to learn it, the learning methods I will mention aren't difficult.
This video is not about the rules and patterns of pitch accent. There are two basic rules and four accent patterns in pitch accent. If you want to study these fundamentals, please watch this video:
The Very Basics of Japanese Pitch Accent | 2 Rules and 4 Patterns
• The Very Basics of Jap...
Let me know what you think in the comments section!
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#SpeakJapaneseNaturally #pitchaccent

[@e2matheus482]

6:06 - "People understand you, because there's no way that candies are falling from the sky" 😂

[@HardToBeAPoopGod]

whenever you say あめ it sounds exactly like Hana says it in Wolf Children, and it always makes me swoon a little 💛

[@marquis2772]

I was stressing about pitch accents and tried to memorize it for every word I learned, but it was too time-consuming. I see that you use the right stress in all the words you speak, therefore, I will learn pitch accent through immersion from now on.😊

[@JohnnyLynnLee]

Pitch accent matters. And it`s NOT difficult. I`ve learned Japanese ignoring it. Yeah, you can get quite far. But then I learned VIETNAMESE with six tones (some classify as 8 tones). And you have no choice BUT 5to learn tones properly. Then I came back to Japanese and learned pitch accent. Not learning pitch accent will hinder your Japanese A LOT in the long run. Not only for speaking but for UNDERSTANGING high level, fast Japanese. And it`s easy! People learning tonal languages like Mandarin, Vietnamese, Thai and Cantonese (with NINE tones!) which are a thousand times harder than Japanese pitch accent do NOT complain about tones! "Ah but we have kanjis as well and.." Chinese have even more, and tones. I find it amazing this phenomena where Japanese learners ALONE think pitch is "so hard." It's easy. Just go and learn it, for Christ sake. People are learning 6,000 characters and 9 tones in Cantonese and no one is complaining. Once you go from Japanese to one of those languages you realize how IRRATIONAL is this conversation in the Japanese learning community about whether or not learning pitch accent. Just go and learn. It's not that hard. Basically EVERYTHING else about Japanese is harder than pitch.

[@Rationalific]

Don't stress about pitch accents. Pitch about pitch accents. 😁

[@mikeg4691]

​@@JohnnyLynnLeethat's why I'm not learning tonal languages

[@JohnnyLynnLee]

@@mikeg4691 You should.

[@JohnnyLynnLee]

@@mikeg4691 and you CANNOT get away with ignoring pitch accent to have a real FLUENT Japanese. ain't gonna happen, it's a lie.

[@joshuatealeaves]

言霊　Mmm, I love that. I’m always learning something new with you

[@gkfujiwaraesquibel7998]

From your video in 5:48 Some dude who finally learned and mastered Standard Japanese: YES! After all these years, the trials, and the pitch accents, the Kanji, I finally mastered the language! 🎉🎉🎉🎉😊😊😊❤❤❤❤ Other Japanese Dialects: Allow us to introduce ourselves... Dude: Oh shi- 😢

[@mrmuffyman]

THANK YOUUUUUU. this makes understanding pitch accent rules 1000 times easier.

[@LloydVanBraun]

Comfortably the best and most balanced and encouraging video about pitch accent.

[@Xalimeo]

In my opinion this channel and dogen are the best resources for japanese pitch accent. I'm pretty new to japanese and can also be wrong tho - If someone knows better/more then feel free to tell me

[@JohnM...]

Yes. Dogen’s by comparison is a little ‘messy’. Nicest thing I can say…

[@drachenlachen]

I understand fully the meaning of pitch accent. I once listend to a brasilian preacher, she spoke fluent German but the accents were spanish. I had such a hard time, understanding her! The other way round: When the grammar ist falty, but the accents are fine, it simply sounds „german“, it makes listening and understandig very easy. I will see, how far I will come with learning Japanese. But your channel is definitly very encouraging! Thank you for all the effort!

[@shadowdiamond1101]

You have a lovely voice, thank you for the lesson. I look forward to visiting Tokyo soon!

[@WhittleDude]

I love that you talk about word spirit. This concept is truly critical in life. I teach people that we all have a perspective of ourselves. If our personal perspective is off, so is our lives. Word Spirit defines what I teach. Thank you for bring this concept to light. I hope we all use this to learn good Japanese and happy life. Thank you.

[@TheAjayTyler]

Thanks, this helped me better grasp how pitch accent works in Japanese (its role and function). I'd understood parts of it before, but likening it to how stress is used in English really helped clear things up, especially the example of "I read the newspaper every day" and "I read the Mainichi Shinbun."

[@shizuokaBLUES]

Thanks for this encouraging video Fumi Sensei! Just what was needed tonight. Edit: just rewatched tonight while driving (your voice is VERY relaxing for driving by the way) and I realized that your point about negative self talk is something for me to consider now as I start your course. Thank you sensei

[@Leokuma7]

Your voice and the way you speak are incredibly clear, pleasant and soothing.

[@Rocky-u3b]

Nice Helping. The manner in which Fumi-san speaks makes me want to meet her in person, and I'm visiting Japan for a few months soon!

[@JohnM...]

I picked up certain words from books which never explained how to pronounce them, such as: すてき、actually pronounced ‘STEkie’ - great, lovely; or 美しい　－うつくしい　－pronounced ootSKOOSHie - beautiful, and only by hearing them in videos did I learn the correct pronunciation.

[@Gabu_Dono]

The reason people haven't me understood me in Japanese in the past is mainly be because of 1) not pronouncing words properly, like incorrectly saying タンネル instead of トンネル for tunnel 2) not pronouncing words with the correct length, like incorrectly saying ねっこ instead of ねこ for cat 3) in the beginning, incorrectly pronouncing individual kana, like saying ざけ instead of さけ for alcohol. After solving those issues, the main communication issue has been incorrect or convoluted turns of phrase. For instance, the other day I said the very uncommon 克己 for "self-discipline" instead of 我慢 ... However, there are some situations where incorrect pitch-accent has also caused issues. These mistakes are very difficult to correct, because it's hard to even hear what the differences in pitch are.

[@Rationalific]

その意見が好きです！動画をありがとうございます！

[@albertmiranda1826]

Hi Fumi!!! Thaks for your excellent and beautiful explanations and point of view for us to understand and try to learn japanese language. I've been thinking for a long time on trying to learn japanese because I'm deeply attracted to japanese culture, way of life and Bonsai (I been practicing Bonsai since 2006-2007). My wife and I went to Japan on 2018, we stay at Tokyo Palace hotel, at a Ryokan in Hakone and took a cruise at Yokohama that went on the south coast of Japan and stops by Kochi, Miyasaki, Kagoshima, like 3 other places in Japan and also Busan Korea and my life changed for ever for the better with that amazing experience. I finally ordered 2 practice notebooks for Katakana/Hiragana/Kanji one notebook is only plain squares for writing and the other have lessons/exercises and the squares for practicing (they suppose to arrive tomorrow) I'm so blessed that I found your channel because definetly you will make easier this journey of trying to learn japanese language/writing. Your beatiful/perfect voice and toughts will be crucial for my journey. My goal is to learn at least basic japanese language/writing before my time on earth expires. Thanks!!! Take Care!!! Blessings from Puerto Rico!!!😊😊😊

[@mgrzx3367]

Thank you for all your videos. I'm grateful for your instruction and expertise. 🌸

[@midlifecrisisme6182]

As always - you are a total pro at explaining things and providing easy to understand examples. And yes for each visit to Japan you realize more and more that the pitch matters. Sometimes there are definitely lost in translation moments because of this lol I think the problem for me and probably many other people is that you only have time/energy etc for a certain number of hours studying per week. So if you’re gonna start spending time on intonation/pitch etc what should you spend less time on? It would actually be interesting to hear if there are aspects of the Japanese learning process that you think are pointless or that will probably not enhance your skills that much.

[@summerweendream9706]

I think it's important to be aware of and important to shadow, but it's not important to memorize it for every single word you learn. Sometimes, you don't even have to think about it, it just naturally is something you recall automatically. Don't stress!

[@Ar8it3r]

In the beginning stages, pitch accent isn’t really critical. Like I’m talking about when you are learning how to read and write ひらがな and カタカナ, when you are starting to learn for to form correct grammar and sentences that’s when it’s crucial. Having said that though; the earlier you start learning it the better.

[@motojojo_]

I like your explanation of pitch accent, although I haven’t focused on it much (been trying to get the mori right first), I know it’s something I’ll have to tackle at some point. I struggle with the immersion part of things in a slightly odd way. When I went to Japan, I could get the gist of what people were saying most of the time, and hold relatively basic conversations. But at home I struggle a lot more when watching videos and listening to people talk.

[@playalot86]

Hey Fumi! YOU'RE THE ABSOLUTE BEST! :D

[@FloRiLLAZ]

Her are some examples how i remember pitch accent: Ame(the pitch goes DOWN)=the rain falls DOWN. aME(the pitch goes UP) i put candy UP into my mouth. SEki(chair) i sit DOWN on the chair. seKI(to cough) the cough goes UP to come out of my mouth. HAna(nose) fluids of my nose flow DOWN. haNA(flower) when a flower grows, it grows UP. Sorry for some examples being a bit disgusting, but it helps me a lot to remember the pitch.

[@Aeroxima]

By the way, I hope this isn't out of place to say, but your English is very good, better than most native Japanese speakers I see. But I noticed one thing: "...when you're listening to Japanese contents" It fits English patterns, but it's a bit of an exception. "Content" is basically like its already plural in this case. It would be "when listening to Japanese content". If you add the S, it sounds like "the contents of a box", as in what something contains. Like the あめ example, everyone will still understand though. Normally I wouldn't say anything, but everything else is so good, it stood out a little.

[@Preschool4yo-7yo]

For myself\ to so called `pitch accent' Fumi sensei said\ * I feel very often interest. And those type of studies are really help to live after all what i want. So i wish and now! i at least do entire KZbin-shorts.

[@RB3AE]

was just wondering this! ty for this video

[@AlexVieira-c6h]

日本語を勉強すればするほど、それがいかに難しいかがわかります 😅

[@Aeroxima]

For the part about "distinguishing breaks in meaning", it's kind of like a pretty well known joke with English, "Commas save lives": "Let's eat, grandma!" = 食べましょう、おばあちゃん！ "Let's eat grandma!" = おばあちゃんを食べましょう！ (I think it's also rare that it would change meaning that much, but it can still sound awkward depending on how you say it.)

[@kaizokudude]

Thank you so much! In the West, we still have this ancient pre-Christian belief about touching wood when we mention negative things that could happen.

[@o7juan]

Doesn't matter because you will naturally gain it by constantly talking and listening in Japanese. Despite having to live in Japan for this to work naturally. I don't find any good apparent reason when you are a casual learner or as a hobby. As long as I can understand and they can understand it doesn't matter to me. Just like someone can't speak good enough English I can still understand what they are trying to say to get their point across. 👍

[@gabrielMaciel-xm9wf]

Arigatou Sensei 🇯🇵🤗❤😊✌

[@philippGM]

I couldn’t find it but if I remember correctly you made a similar video in the past. Am I wrong?

[@Hofer2304]

For language learning I use GoogleTranslate. It is very frustrating that it ignores the pitch accent, even if I exaggerate. In Italian I have a similar problem. If I ask a question, GoogleTranslate ignores my intonation adld decides it was a statement.

[@MohanHariDas]

❤❤❤ Today 1st Fumi san 😂

[@SpeakJapaneseNaturally]

You're the 1st! 😄🙌🎉

[@ignaciogonzalezferreira7416]

Usa español en tus vídeos también 😢🙏🏻please

[@Crackalacking_Z]

I feel like dialects and accents are really best picked up by immersion. Your brain will subconsciously re-align with repeated listening. That's why people moving to different regions will eventually sound like locals.

[@snappie4180]

I've contemplated learning pitch accent. But I notice that the main way I try to pick up vocabulary (currently genki books and wanikani) don't show which pattern to use. So I feel like I couldn't really learn the pattern with the word even if I wanted to.

[@tangente00]

for wanikani there is an "addon" to add pitch accent for your browser

[@Octopusique]

Pitch accent is just as important as grammar. This might not be apparent to beginners. But when your vocabulary expands, getting pitch accent correct becomes more and more important.

[@thomashamela612]

🐭

[@JohnnyLynnLee]

Pitch accent matters. And it`s NOT difficult. I`ve learned Japanese ignoring it. Yeah, you can get quite far. But then I learned VIETNAMESE with six tones (some classify as 8 tones). And you have no choice BUT 5to learn tones properly. Then I came back to Japanese and learned pitch accent. Not learning pitch accent will hinder your Japanese A LOT in the long run. Not only for speaking but for UNDERSTANGING high level, fast Japanese. And it`s easy! People learning tonal languages like Mandarin, Vietnamese, Thai and Cantonese (with NINE tones!) which are a thousand times harder than Japanese pitch accent do NOT complain about tones! "Ah but we have kanjis as well and.." Chinese have even more, and tones. I find it amazing this phenomena where Japanese learners ALONE think pitch is "so hard." It's easy. Just go and learn it, for Christ sake. People are learning 6,000 characters and 9 tones in Cantonese and no one is complaining. Once you go from Japanese to one of those languages you realize how IRRATIONAL is this conversation in the Japanese learning community about whether or not learning pitch accent. Just go and learn. It's not that hard. Basically EVERYTHING else about Japanese is harder than pitch.

[@Factchecker_Diplomat_007]

You speak English good. Where did you learn English? Lol

[@tianlan8894]

👍❤🌷🍑🍨

[@ernestboston7707]

This is my first time to watch you, and I’m sure your content is very good, but I find the video editing disconcerting because it is so jerky. I would suggest longer chunks of video without breaks when you are doing explanations.

[@rzfs-g9i]

老师好厉害，懂那么多语言