I recently learned the words for oyster/persimmon and rain/candy are very similar. I had a Japanese person repeat them for me and I still can’t really tell the difference.
For candy, this is why I think remembering the loanword for candy ( キャンディ kyandei ) can be kinda nice. Allows you to get some clarification by asking if that’s what they’re actually talking about.
it’s pitch accent. There’s nothing different about the sounds the characters make (ka and ki or a and me), but the pitch contour is different. For extra fun, those pitch accent patterns vary across Japan and may be opposite in some places.
Yeah that’s what was explained to me but the differences were so subtle I can barely hear them. At least with the way the Japanese person spoke them to me.
I recently learned the words for oyster/persimmon and rain/candy are very similar. I had a Japanese person repeat them for me and I still can’t really tell the difference.
For candy, this is why I think remembering the loanword for candy ( キャンディ kyandei ) can be kinda nice. Allows you to get some clarification by asking if that’s what they’re actually talking about.
it’s pitch accent. There’s nothing different about the sounds the characters make (ka and ki or a and me), but the pitch contour is different. For extra fun, those pitch accent patterns vary across Japan and may be opposite in some places.
Yeah that’s what was explained to me but the differences were so subtle I can barely hear them. At least with the way the Japanese person spoke them to me.