Explanation of Japanese Phonetic Notation

Overview

These entries show Japanese words with pitch accent notation and phonetic transcription.

---

Three Main Components

Component	Example	Purpose
Kanji	仕事	Written form
Katakana with marks	シゴ[ト]￣	Pitch accent
Phonetic /…/	/shigoto/	Pronunciation

---

Pitch Accent Symbols

￣ (Flat Line) – Heiban

Pattern: Low → High → High → High…

The pitch rises after the first mora and stays high. No drop occurs.

Word	Notation	Pitch Pattern
仕事	シゴ[ト]￣	shi(L) – go(H) – to(H)
探す	サガス￣	sa(L) – ga(H) – su(H)
旅行	リョコー￣	ryo(L) – ko(H) – o(H)

---

┐ (Downstep) – Pitch Drop

Pattern: Pitch drops after this mark

Word	Notation	Pitch Pattern
海	ウミ┐	u(L) – mi(H) ↘
川	カワ┐	ka(L) – wa(H) ↘
家族	カ[ゾ]ク┐	ka(L) – zo(H) – ku(H) ↘

---

[ ] (Brackets) – High Pitch Mora

Brackets mark which mora is high pitch.

Word	Notation	High Part
仕事	シゴ[ト]	ト is high
泳ぐ	オヨ[グ]	グ is high
食べる	タ[ベ]ル	ベ is high
レストラン	レ[ス]トラン	ス is high

---

Phonetic Symbols /…/

Symbol	Sound	Example
sh	“sh” in “ship”	/shigoto/
ts	“ts” in “cats”	/natsuyasumi/
ō	long “o”	/ryokō/

---