Hearing Kansai pitch: bridge, chopsticks and edge

The idea

For words spoken alone, the cited Osaka pattern is 高低 for 橋, 低高 for 箸 and 高高 for 端. In Tokyo, 橋 and 端 are both 低高 alone, while 箸 is 高低; a following particle can distinguish 橋 from 端. Word accent differs from sentence-level intonation. Here 高 means high and 低 means low, read in order across the two morae.

Read the text

Examples

• 橋はしの上うえを歩あるきます。I walk over the bridge.
• 箸はしを二本にほん使つかいます。I use two chopsticks.
• 机つくえの端はしに、本ほんがあります。There is a book at the edge of the desk.
• 橋はしの下したに、川かわがあります。There is a river under the bridge.
• 新あたらしい箸はしを家いえで使つかいます。I use new chopsticks at home.
• 箱はこの端はしに、名前なまえを書かきます。I write my name on the edge of the box.

Watch out

These are reference patterns, not rules for every Kansai speaker or every sentence. No recording is supplied: read the transcript or use device voice, which may not produce Osaka pitch.

Try it yourself

1. Choose the Japanese term for “bridge: Osaka 高低, Tokyo 低高”: （橋はし／箸はし）

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   橋

   橋 means “bridge: Osaka 高低, Tokyo 低高”; 箸 means “chopsticks: Osaka 低高, Tokyo 高低”.

2. Choose the Japanese term for “chopsticks: Osaka 低高, Tokyo 高低”: （箸はし／端はし）

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   箸

   箸 means “chopsticks: Osaka 低高, Tokyo 高低”; 端 means “edge: Osaka 高高, Tokyo 低高”.

3. Choose the Japanese term for “edge: Osaka 高高, Tokyo 低高”: （端はし／橋はし）

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   端

   端 means “edge: Osaka 高高, Tokyo 低高”; 橋 means “bridge: Osaka 高低, Tokyo 低高”.

4. According to the table, what is the first mora’s pitch when 橋 is said alone in the cited Osaka pattern? （高／低）

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   高

   高. In the cited Osaka pattern, isolated 橋 is 高低: the first mora is high and the second low.

Use it today

Read the transcript and identify the three はし words from context; compare the table rather than assuming the device voice is regional.