Japanese

Noun

平板式 ‎(hiragana へいばんしき, romaji heiban-shiki)

1. (phonetics) monotone style:

   The pitch accent pattern in Japanese where no syllable is accented: the first syllable has low pitch and all subsequent syllables have higher, gradually lowering pitch.

Synonyms

• 平板型 (へいばんがた) ‎(heiban-gata)

Antonyms

• 起伏式 (きふくしき) ‎(kifuku-shiki)

Usage notes

All accent patterns in Japanese may be described as either 平板式 (heiban-shiki) or 起伏式 (​kifuku-shiki). While 起伏式 is further divided into 頭高型 (​atamadaka-gata), 中高型 (​nakadaka-gata), and 尾高型 (​odaka-gata), there are no subcategories to 平板式. When contrasting with 頭高型, 頭高型, or 尾高型, it is customary to use the word 平板型 to avoid the inconsistency of comparing 型 (​-gata) with 式 (​-shiki).