Pitch Accent Practice | Hana Banana Japanese

🎵 Pitch Accent & Intonation

Japanese does not use STRESS like English — it uses PITCH (high and low).
Master the rules below, then test your ear with the practice quiz!

🌼 Score: 0 / 16

🔑 The 3 Absolute Rules

Mora 1 and mora 2 always have DIFFERENT pitch.
If the 1st mora is low, the 2nd must be high — and vice versa. (e.g. あなた vs あなた)

Once the pitch falls, it NEVER rises again within the same word.
A word can only have ONE pitch "mountain". After the drop, it stays low until the word ends.

Think of particles（が・は・を…）as part of the set.
Two words can sound identical alone, but the pitch of the following particle reveals the difference (橋が vs 箸が).

📊 The 4 Basic Patterns

Pattern	Shape	Example	Pitch (L = low, H = high)
平板型 Heiban	1st mora low, rises from the 2nd, particle stays HIGH.	水 (mizu)	L - H (particle H)
頭高型 Atamadaka	Only the 1st mora is high; everything after is low.	箸 (hashi)	H - L (particle L)
中高型 Nakadaka	Rises in the middle, then falls. Particle low.	あなた (anata)	L - H - L (particle L)
尾高型 Odaka	High until the end of the word, but the PARTICLE drops.	橋 (hashi)	L - H (particle L)

✏️ Practice — Which pattern is it?

Listen to the word with が, then choose its pitch pattern. The pitch shape appears after you answer.
* Audio is computer-generated — trust the rules more than the robot!