Beat
Rhythm, Tempo, The Moment
counter, noun
Break down a beat into all of its children and you’ve got more than just a single beat. You’ve got an assortment of beats, making a rhythm, and setting a tempo.
Additionally, this can also refer to the moment something happens. You’ll usually encounter this in the form of ~した拍子に. Have a look at our context sentences to see this usage in action!
This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of its kanji. However, 拍 uses its secondary reading, which you haven’t learned yet, so here’s a mnemonic to help you:
You get the beat and the rhythm going in your body. You can't help but sing out loud, "Heyo (ひょう), heyo!" Feel that rhythm and sing with me! HEYO HEYO!
この曲は、拍子を取るのが難しい。
It's difficult to match the tempo of this tune.
転んだ拍子に差し歯が抜けてしまい、恥ずかしい思いをした。
I was embarrassed that when I fell my false tooth fell out.
拍子抜けしてしまったよ。
Well that was anticlimactic.