I’ve been trying to learn pitch accents while learning vocabulary but even though I’m memorizing the words quite well I always mess up the pitch… any tips??
Practice listening. Over and over again. Eventually you start to hear two different words, not the same word with different pitches.
Unfortunately, pitch accents are hard to hear in isolation, so you really need to listen to them in context. Renshuu doesn’t really provide much help here either.
Most gaijin adult learners have trouble getting pitch accents right, so don’t beat yourself up over it. It’s hard.
Listening as said above is the biggest way to understand pronunciation better. Don’t fret pitch accent too much in the beginning, especially considering that the pitch accent depends on the region of Japan. Textbook pitch accent is based on the kanto way of speaking but Japan obviously is way bigger than that. Usually people can still understand your even if your pitch accent is a bit off
i recommend shadowing and listening (not just passively, but actively too).
when i say listen actively, i mean not just put on something to hear and comprehend what is being said, but take small parts of the audio and listen attentively trying to recognize the pitch accents. that will make you more conscious of them and with time they'll start to stuck in your head.
shadowing is when you hear something and try to mimic with exactness the way they're speaking.
don't be afraid to slow down the audios, go back a little, listen again, listen more carefully... also when you're studying "intensively" like that, is better to do with small things so you don't get tired
Everybody is mentioning listening, which is super important BUT I just want to say that at the end of the day, your pitch is way less important than your pronunciation of the words. (Though in general, the more monotone the better, if you can't remember the correct pitch.) Listen to get the pronunciation right and the pitch will come more naturally to you in time.
I personally, while learning, studying and revising the vocabulary, try to pronounce the words according to the accent. I initially exaggerate the pitch differences until I become comfortable. If the pitch accent is not shown, I compare the word with another wrd with similar kana by listening to the audio and trying to hear the difference.
