A question sets up the information the answer supplies.
The idea
In a reply to “Who came?”, 田中さん is the new focus; in a reply to “What did you buy?”, 本 is the focus. A speaker can make the focused phrase more prominent in pitch, often compressing the pitch range that follows. A correction can similarly highlight 今日 against 明日.
Examples
- 誰が来ましたか。Who came?
- 田中さんが来ました。Ms Tanaka came.
- 何を買いましたか。What did you buy?
- 本を買いました。I bought a book.
- 明日、会議があります。The meeting is tomorrow.
- いいえ、会議は今日です。No, the meeting is today.
Read-aloud uses a synthetic Japanese voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.
No Japanese device voice is available. You can still read the text and use the linked listening resources.
Watch out
Focus is contextual, not a fixed melody or simply a louder word. Lexical pitch accent, speaker and speaking situation also shape the contour; punctuation alone does not show it.
Try it yourself
「誰が来ましたか」に「田中さんが来ました」と答えます。新しい情報は？（田中さん／来ました）
Show answer or example answer
田中さん
田中さん answers who came, so it carries the new information.
「何を買いましたか」に「本を買いました」と答えます。焦点は？（本／買いました）
Show answer or example answer
本
本 answers what was bought; the buying itself is already given by the question.
「明日です」を「いいえ、今日です」と訂正します。対比する語は？（今日／いいえ）
Show answer or example answer
今日
今日 corrects 明日 and is the contrasted information.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
「誰が来ましたか」に「田中さんが来ました」と答えます。新しい情報は？（田中さん／来ました）
「何を買いましたか」に「本を買いました」と答えます。焦点は？（本／買いました）
「明日です」を「いいえ、今日です」と訂正します。対比する語は？（今日／いいえ）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Read each question and answer aloud, then say the correction contrasting 今日 with 明日. Record yourself and listen for the focus without exaggerating volume.