Phrase guide

pitch accent

noun · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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No pronunciation record was provided for this word.

1

noun

Meaning 1

Any of a variety of restricted tone systems that use variations in pitch to give prominence to a syllable or mora within a word. The placement of this tone or the way it is realized can give different meanings to otherwise similar words.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: human-sciences, linguistics, phonology, sciences

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

emphasis that results from pitch rather than loudness

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: tonic accent

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stress, emphasis, accent

History

Etymology

No etymology was provided for this word.

Across languages

Translations

27 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: accent musical — phonology
  • Chinese Mandarin: 音高重音 (yīngāo zhòngyīn) — phonology
  • Chinese Mandarin: 高低調 /高低调 (gāodīdiào) — phonology
  • Finnish: sävelaksentti — phonology
  • French: accent de hauteur — phonology
  • French: accent tonal — phonology
  • German: Tonakzent — phonology
  • Japanese: 高低アクセント (kōtei akusento) — phonology
  • Japanese: 高さアクセント (takasa akusento) — phonology
  • Japanese: 音声高さアクセント (onjō takasa akusento, onsei takasa akusento) — phonology
  • Japanese: ピッチアクセント (pitchi-akusento) — phonology
  • Korean: 고저(高低) 악센트 (gojeo aksenteu) — phonology
  • Norwegian Bokmål: tonelag — phonology
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: tonelag — phonology
  • Polish: akcent toniczny — phonology
  • Portuguese: acento tonal — phonology
  • Portuguese: acento musical — phonology
  • Portuguese: acento de altura — phonology
  • Russian: тональное ударе́ние (tonalʹnoje udarénije) — phonology
  • Russian: тоническое ударе́ние (toničeskoje udarénije) — phonology
  • Russian: тоновое ударе́ние (tonovoje udarénije) — phonology
  • Spanish: acentuación tonal / tónica — phonology
  • Spanish: acento musical — phonology
  • Swedish: ordaccent — phonology
  • Swedish: tonaccent — phonology
  • Swedish: musikalisk accent — phonology
  • Vietnamese: trọng âm âm vực — phonology