My dictionaries all list とき ONLY as a [2] word (尾高) [takoboto.jp, jisho.org with jisho pitcher, and 新明解国語辞典 第五版]
However, the phrase そのとき is listed as [3] (i.e. とき becomes 頭高 in this phrase)
Further, [OJAD Suzuki-Kun](https://www.gavo.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp/ojad/phrasing/index) displays とき as 頭高 even when alone (時は…). I have also heard a couple streamers say (動詞)った時は as TOki, since I started paying attention to it.
Do you guys hear とき more often as [2] or [1]? If [1], I wonder why it’s not described as such in the dictionaries.
2 comments
とき when used as a grammar element is always と＼き, but when it’s used to refer to actual time (時間) then it’s とき＼.
> However, the phrase そのとき is listed as [3] (i.e. とき becomes 頭高 in this phrase)
This is そのと＼き because とき here can be considered a part of a larger component/element.
In the usage of “when I was…” then it’s と＼き. In the usage of literally referring to time (like 時とともに, 流れていく時) then it’s とき＼
It’s a 時と場合によって kind of thing. (I’m pretty confident that it’s [2] in that phrase.) Paying attention to what people say is the best way to pick up the specific exceptions.