イントネーション

いんとねーしょん
noun
intonation; speech melody; pitch pattern
1. intonation; speech melody; pitch pattern
The rise and fall of the voice when speaking, which affects meaning, emotion, and naturalness of speech.
イントネーションに()をつけて(はな)す。
To speak paying attention to intonation.
関西弁(かんさいべん)標準語(ひょうじゅんご)ではイントネーションが(ちが)う。
Kansai dialect and standard Japanese have different intonation.
日本語(にほんご)単語(たんご)のイントネーションが()わると意味(いみ)()わることがあるので、(ただ)しい発音(はつおん)()につけることが大切(たいせつ)だ。
In Japanese, changing the intonation of a word can change its meaning, so learning correct pronunciation is important.

From English "intonation." In Japanese linguistics, intonation is particularly important because Japanese is a pitch-accent language. The pitch pattern of a word can distinguish meaning — for example, (はし) (bridge) and (はし) (chopsticks) differ only in pitch accent. Regional dialects are also distinguished largely by their intonation patterns.

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • イントネーションが(ちが)う: the intonation is different
  • イントネーションに()をつける: to pay attention to intonation
  • (ただ)しいイントネーション: correct intonation
  • イントネーションの練習(れんしゅう): intonation practice

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • アクセント: accent — in Japanese linguistics, often refers to pitch accent on individual words, while イントネーション refers to the melody of phrases and sentences
  • 抑揚(よくよう): intonation; inflection — the native Japanese equivalent, used in more formal or literary contexts
  • 声調(せいちょう): tone — used specifically for tonal languages like Chinese