Pitch accent of 物(もの) as a standalone noun


(I am talking about もの as a standalone noun outside of compounds. The kind of
もの used after the 連用形 form of verbs (忘れ物 etc.) is usually 平板型 (though there
are many exceptions))

I feel like 尾高型 is in a way the "default" pitch of もの but I do come across the
平板型 pronounciation as well. I haven't been able to make any inferences as to
which pronunciation is used in which environment.

I tried to consult the (electronic) NHK accent dictionary and it just gave me
two rather cryptic examples: 物(〜がよい) where it is 平板型; 物(〜をもらう) where it is
尾高型. So I guess the succeeding particle is what makes the difference? What
about the other particles?




Note: I will be using superscripts to distinguish 平板1 and 尾高2

The もの1 in 物が良い means _quality (of the thing being talked about)_. Practically
you can think this is a (group of) set phrase(s). So もの1 is always followed by
が/は+よい/悪い(/some variants of them). As such this もの1 is never modified by other
phrases. For examples, よいもの2 or もらったもの2 is always もの2.

In terms of particles, as can be understood from above, it is not what makes
the difference, but you can mostly assume もの2 if it is followed by something
other than が/は. If が/は follows もの, you have to consider other factors.

For learners, I think remembering もの1 が/は+よい/わるい is good enough approximation.
E.g., これはものがよい=This product is of good quality.




Note: I will be using superscripts to distinguish 平板1 and 尾高2

The もの1 in 物が良い means _quality (of the thing being talked about)_. Practically
you can think this is a (group of) set phrase(s). So もの1 is always followed by
が/は+よい/悪い(/some variants of them). As such this もの1 is never modified by other
phrases. For examples, よいもの2 or もらったもの2 is always もの2.

In terms of particles, as can be understood from above, it is not what makes
the difference, but you can mostly assume もの2 if it is followed by something
other than が/は. If が/は follows もの, you have to consider other factors.

For learners, I think remembering もの1 が/は+よい/わるい is good enough approximation.
E.g., これはものがよい=This product is of good quality.

