Shogakukan Unabridged Dictionary of the Japanese Language

Notes

Pronunciation Section

Pronunciation notes are given in the Pronunciation (【発音】;hatsuon) Section in the following order:

◆ Phonetic Pronunciation

[1] Standard Pronunciations

Annotations are provided chiefly for modern words which are pronounced differently from their heading orthographies. However, annotations are also provided, when necessary, for pre-modern words which can be pronounced as modern words.

A prolonged sound symbol “－” indicates an elongated vowel (see examples below).

こうり【行李】　　【発音】コーリ (pronounced as “kōri”)
こおり【氷】　　【発音】コーリ (pronounced as “kōri”)
・, etc. indicate that they may be pronounced respectively as “イ,” “ウ,” etc. or as elongations of the preceding vowel.

ていねい【丁寧】　　【発音】テネ（テイネイともテーネーとも；pronounced as “teinei” or as “tēnē”）

かなしい【悲】　　【発音】カナシ（カナシイともカナシーとも; pronounced as “kanashii” or as “kanashī”）

くう【食】　　【発音】ク（クウともクーとも; pronounced as “kuu” or as “kū”）
indicates that the character “ウ” may be pronounced as “u” or as a nasalized “m.”

うめ【梅】　　【発音】メ　（ウメとも[mme] とも; pronounced as “ume” or as “mme”）
indicate nasalized g-syllables ［ ‐］.

とげ【刺】　　【発音】ト
When g-syllables may take both unnasalized and nasalized pronunciations (［ ‐］and［ ‐］), both are given.

がが【峨峨】　　【発音】ガ（ガ）
あまごぜ【尼御前】　　【発音】アマゴ（）ゼ
Pronunciations of ヂ and ヅ are replaced by ジ and ズ respectively. However, where only the letters ヂ and ヅ are pronounced differently from their heading orthographies, pronunciation notes are omitted.

ちぢみあがる【縮上】　　【発音】チジミアル
つづみ【鼓】　　発音注記なし (pronunciation notes omitted)
Pronunciations of sentence-final forms (shūshikei) of verbs in bungo (literary style) are indicated as in the examples below.
おもう【思】　　【発音】オモーとも (also pronounced as “omō”)
はらう【払】　　【発音】ハローとも (also pronounced as “harō”)
In words of foreign origin containing a nasalized g-syllable, pronunciation notes are omitted if there are no other syllables that are pronounced differently from their heading orthographies.
イギリス　　発音注記なし(pronunciation notes omitted)
イギリスご【─語】　　【発音】イリス

[2] Phonetic Pronunciation History

Notes are given for words which have undergone irregular sound changes. As a rule, however, notes are not given for words which have undergone regular sound changes. For example, notes on pronunciation changes are not given for ha-column syllables in the middle and the end of words, because these pronunciations are understood to have changed simultaneously in the same period.
Pronunciation notes for pre-modern words are given on the basis of historical sources. However, source titles are not identified, but only the estimated period of publication or compilation of such sources is identified in the following way:

Jōdai (上代; ancient period); Heian(平安; Heian period); Chūsei (中世；medieval period （or alternatively, broken down into Kamakura (鎌倉; Kamakura period), Muromachi (室町; Muromachi period), etc.）; Kinsei (近世; early modern period); and Gendai (現代; modern period)
When the specific period cannot be estimated on the basis of historical sources, expressions such as 「古くは」（furukuwa; in ancient times） and 「後世」(kōsei; in later ages) are used.

いちじるし【著】

平安頃まで

いちしるし

と清音らしい(seems to have been pronounced in an unvoiced way as “ichishirushi” until around the Heian period.) 中世・近世は

いちしるし

いちじるし

の両様か。(In the medieval and the early modern periods, the word is deemed to have been pronounced both as “ichishirushi” and as “ichijirushi.”)

Pronunciation notes for modern words are focused primarily on the standard pronunciations in Tokyo and its vicinity.

[3] Regional Variant Pronunciations (Namari)

The namari 〈なまり〉 sub-section contains regional variant pronunciations of modern dialect words that are considered to share a common origin with standard words. These items are given with regional and source identification, as shown in the following example:

かしこい【賢】
【発音】

カシカイ〔南伊勢・紀州・和歌山県〕カシクイ〔ＮＨＫ（宮崎）〕カシケ〔千葉・鳥取・鹿児島方言〕カシケー〔岩手・福島・鳥取〕カシッケー〔埼玉方言・神奈川〕カスケ〔岩手・秋田・鳥取〕カスケェ・カッケ〔岩手〕カッコイ〔大阪・伊予〕

“Standard” words include some pre-modern items. The “modern dialects” considered here do not include Ryūkyūan dialects.

Regional variant items included in this sub-section consist principally of individual variant pronunciations, rather than examples of regular sound changes such as the Tokyo dialect’s shift of hi to shi. However, certain regional variant pronunciations based on little-known or geographically limited regular sound changes are included in this sub-section for reasons of convenience.
The sources used in documenting regional variant pronunciations are shown in the Namari no chūki ni mochiiru Shiryō oyobi Ryakugō Ichiran (「なまりの注記に用いる資料および略号一覧」； List of full and abbreviated titles of sources for regional variant pronunciations) presented in the Appendix.

◆ Pitch Accent

[4] Standard Pitch Accent

Notation of standard modern pitch accent is given in square brackets [ ], principally for words in modern use. No descriptions are given for words with ambiguous accent configurations, such as ancillary words (fuzokugo), non-Tokyo dialectal variants, and some pre-modern words. Notation is also omitted for headwords consisting of two or more component elements when the accents of the compound can be inferred from that of each constituent element.

Method of Notation

A katakana letter in square brackets [ ] means that the corresponding mora is of high pitch, as indicated by the kanji character 高placed above the parentheses 〔　〕. For nouns, particles are also included in identifying the high-pitch mora.

そら【空】	［ソ］	高低低〔ソラ〕
のはら【野原】	［ノ］	高低低低〔ノハラ〕
やま【山】	［マ］	低高低〔ヤマ〕
かきね【垣根】	［キ］	低高低低〔カキネ〕

If a katakana letter in square brackets [ ] corresponds to the third or ensuing mora of a word, it means that the first mora is of low pitch, while all moras from the second through the katakana letter concerned are of high pitch.

おもて【表】	［テ］	低高高低〔オモテ〕
みずうみ【湖】	［ウ］	低高高低低〔ミズウミ〕
わたしぶね【渡船】	［ブ］	低高高高低低〔ワタシブネ〕

The symbol [ 0] means that the word’s first mora is of low pitch while those of all ensuing moras are of high pitch.

かぜ【風】	［０］	低高高〔カゼ〕
やなぎ【柳】	［０］	低高高高〔ヤナ〕

If a word has, in addition to a high-pitch mora, one or more moras of the same sound, the high-pitch mora is identified by placing a number in angled parentheses ＜＞, with ＜2＞, for example, indicating that the accent is placed on the second of the moras of the same sound.

こころ【心】［コ］＜２＞低高低
〔ココロ〕

A katakana letter in square brackets [ ] is given in the same phonetic form as that used for indicating standard pronunciation. However, even when this differs from the orthographic form of the headword, notation of pitch accent may be omitted.

かげえ【影絵】	【発音】カエ　［ケ゜］
うまうま【旨旨】	【発音】ママ　［ウｘ］＜１＞
ゆのみぢゃわん【湯呑茶碗】	【発音】［ジャ］
オルゴール	【発音】［コ゜］

When two or more accent forms exist for a word, the one deemed to be standard is given first.

あかとんぼ【赤蜻蛉】【発音】［ト］［ア］
When two or more accent forms exist for a word, and when their respective standard pronunciations differ from each other, the word’s pitch accent is notated in the following way.

おおい【多】【発音】オオイ［オ］＜２＞オーイ［オ］

When one item is divided into two separate accent clusters, the division is marked by the symbol “=.” The same symbol is inserted in the standard pronunciation notation when that notation is provided. However, when the place of this accent division is different from the place of the word-dividing hyphen given in the heading, or when the accent division is discernible because, for instance, no hyphen is given in the heading, then the standard pronunciation is especially given with the symbol “=.” for purposes of clarity.

ななころび‐やおき【七転八起】
【発音】

［ナ］＜２＞＝［ヤ］［コ］＝［ヤ］

いろは‐しじゅうはちもじ【以呂波四十八文字】
【発音】イロハ＝シジューハチモジ

［ロ］＝［チ］

さんじゅうさん‐かいき【三十三回忌】
【発音】サンジュー＝サンカイキ

［サ］＝［カ］　（［サ］＜１＞＝［カ］とはしない）

あまのはしだて‐まつり【天橋立祭】
【発音】アマノ＝ハシダテマツリ

［ア］＝［マ］

いちのたにふたばぐんき【一谷嫩軍記】
【発音】イチノタニ＝フタバグンキ

［ノ］＝［グ］

When the pronunciation of the literary form of a verb differs from the pronunciation suggested by the heading orthography, the corresponding accent notation is given in parentheses ( ).

はらう【払】【発音】ハローとも　［ラ］（［ロ］）
When alternate forms of words of foreign origin are given in double angled parentheses《　》, the accent notation for the alternate form is also given in double angled parentheses《　》in the accent section:

ウォーター（英water）《ウオーター》　　［ウォ］《［オ］》

[5] Pitch Accent History

Notation is given for changes in historical Kyoto accent forms that have been inferred from written materials.
Individual titles of these materials are not given, but the period for which the particular accent pattern has been inferred - i.e., the Heian (平安), Kamakura (鎌倉), Muromachi (室町), or Edo (江戸) period - is given.

Method of notation:

a)	Accent indicated is indicted by means of the following symbols, with each of the circles representing one mora:
	high, level pitch 　low, level pitch 　falling pitch 　rising pitch かぜ【風】　　平安来こと【事】　　平安・鎌倉　室町来あめ【雨】　　平安来いぬ【往】　　平安にじ【虹】　　平安との両様　鎌倉はぎ【脛】　　平安　鎌倉か
b)	Since single-mora words are deemed to have been pronounced with two moras, their historical accent pattern is indicated with two circles. In these cases, phonetic orthography is shown in the sub-section for(historical accent notation).
	こ【子】　　コー　平安来き【木】　　キー　平安・鎌倉　室町来け【毛】　　ケー　平安・鎌倉か江戸

Historical accent patterns of inflected forms, etc., are given as necessary, in the manner shown below.

あかい【赤】　　あかし　　平安　鎌倉あかき　江戸あかき

あける【開】　　あく　　　平安　鎌倉・江戸あくる

〈Note〉
For verbs of the yodan [4-row] and kami-ichidan [upper 1-row] and 　shimo-ichidan [lower 1-row] conjugation, whose phonetic pronunciation is identical for the shūshikei [sentence-final] and rentaikei [attributive] forms, accent patterns are given for the shūshikei in the Heian period and for the rentaikei in the Kamakura and subsequent periods.

【書】　　平安　鎌倉来
The principal source materials used for historical accent notations are listed in the Akusento-shi no Shiryō (「アクセント史の資料」; Materials on Accent History) given in the Appendix.

[6] Modern Kyoto Pitch Accent

For words in current use in daily life, their modern Kyoto pitch accent patterns are indicated by placing katakana or a zero in parentheses ( ) or square brackets [ ]. These notations are provided in the belief that not only are modern Kyoto pitch accent patterns important in considering accent history, but they are also opposite in form from the modern standard accent patterns, and they remain influential among western Japanese dialects.
In cases in which Kyoto pitch accent patterns listed in the first edition of this dictionary are not currently in wide use among elderly residents of Kyoto, or in which the first edition listed a single accent pattern for forms for which multiple variant patterns are encountered in the speech of elderly Kyoto residents, the accent patterns given in the first edition have been retained, and patterns identified in a more recent survey of the speech of Kyoto residents born in the late Meiji and early Taishō periods are indicated after the symbol “／.”

いたわさ【板山葵】　　［０］／（０）

Method of notation

A katakana character placed in parentheses ( ) indicates that the corresponding non-final mora alone is of high pitch.

たまご【卵】	（マ）	低高低低〔タマ〕
ふぞくご【付属語】	（ク）	低低高低低〔フゾク〕

When a katakana character placed in parentheses ( ) constitutes the final mora of a word, it exceptionally indicates that the mora is of falling pitch.

あめ【雨】	（メ）	低高低低〔アメェ〕
マッチ	（チ）	低低高低低〔マッチィ〕

The symbol （ 0 ） indicates that the final mora of a word alone is of high pitch, and all preceding moras of low pitch. When a particle follows such a word, the high pitch shifts to the particle.

そら【空】	（０）	低高　低低高〔ソラ　ソラ〕
すずめ【雀】	（０）	低低高　低低低高〔スズメ　スズメ〕

A katakana letter placed in square brackets [ ] means that all the initial moras of a word through to the one concerned are of high pitch.

はな【花】	［ハ］	高低低〔ハナ〕
ひとり【一人】	［ト］	高高低低〔ヒトリ〕
かいたくしゃ【開拓者】	［ク］	高高高高低低〔カイタクシャ〕

The symbol [ 0 ] indicates that all the moras of a word are of high pitch.

はな【鼻】	［０］	高高高〔ハナ〕
さくら【桜】	［０］	高高高高〔サクラ〕

When the Kyoto phonetic pronunciation of a word differs from the form of the headword, it is given as necessary in the Kyoto Pitch Accent sub-section (

とい【樋】	トユ（ユ）	低高低低〔トユゥ〕
あゆ【鮎】	アイ（イ）	低高低低〔アイィ〕
しち【質】	ヒチ［ヒ］	高低低〔ヒチ〕
ろじ【露地】	ロージ［ー］／（ー）	低高低低〔ロージ〕

As single-mora Kyoto words are generally pronounced as two-mora words, their pronunciations are especially given in the Kyoto Pitch Accent sub-section ().

ひ【碑】ヒー［０］高高高
〔ヒー〕

ひ【日】ヒー［ヒ］高低低
〔ヒー〕

ひ【火】ヒー（０）低高　低低高
〔ヒー　ヒー〕
As the ガ (g-) and (semi-voiced/nasalized g-) column moras are not phonemically distinct and may appear interchangeably in certain environments, they are both represented by g-column katakana.

かげ【陰】（ゲ）低高低低
〔カゲェ〕

If a word has, in addition to a high-pitch mora, one or more moras of the same sound, the high-pitch mora is identified by placing a number in angled parentheses ＜＞, with ＜1＞, for example, indicating that the accent is placed on the first of the moras of the same sound.

いろいろ【色色】	（ロ）＜１＞／（０）	低高低低〔イロイロ〕
いよいよ【彌】	［イ］＜１＞	高低低低〔イヨイヨ〕
ほお【頬】	ホホ（ホ）＜２＞	低高低低〔ホホォ〕

ひ【碑】	ヒー［０］	高高高〔ヒー〕
ひ【日】	ヒー［ヒ］	高低低〔ヒー〕
ひ【火】	ヒー（０）	低高　低低高〔ヒー　ヒー〕