Kun'yomi

Template:Nihongo or Template:NihongoTemplate:Efn is the way of reading kanji characters using the native Japanese word that matches the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced.<ref name="Coulmas">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Loveday">Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="Shibatani">Template:Cite book</ref> This pronunciation is contrasted with on'yomi, which is the reading based on the original Chinese pronunciation of the character.

Generally, kun'yomi readings are used for simple, singular words, including most verbs, while on'yomi readings are used for compound, technical words.

Characteristics

Kun'yomi are characterized by the strict (C)V syllable structure of Japanese words (yamato kotoba). Most noun or adjective kun'yomi are two to three syllables long, while verb kun'yomi are usually between one and three syllables in length, not counting trailing hiragana called okurigana. Okurigana are not considered to be part of the internal reading of the character, although they are part of the reading of the word. A beginner in the language will rarely come across characters with long readings, but readings of three or even four syllables are not uncommon. This contrasts with on'yomi, which are only one or two syllables, as they were adapted from Chinese characters, which are almost all monosyllabic.

As with on'yomi, there can be multiple kun'yomi for the same kanji, and some kanji have no kun'yomi at all. For instance, the character for east, Template:Nihongo2, has tō as its on'yomi, from Middle Chinese Template:IPA. However, Japanese already had two words for "east": higashi and azuma. Thus the kanji Template:Lang had the latter readings added as kun'yomi. In contrast, the kanji Template:Lang, denoting a Chinese unit of measurement (about 30 mm or 1.2 inch), has no native Japanese equivalent; it only has an on'yomi, sun, with no native kun'yomi.

Usage

In a number of cases, multiple kanji were assigned to cover a single Japanese word. Typically when this occurs, the different kanji refer to specific shades of meaning. For instance, the word Template:Lang, naosu, when written Template:Lang, means "to heal an illness or sickness". When written Template:Lang it means "to fix or correct something". Sometimes the distinction is very clear, although not always. Differences of opinion among reference works are not uncommon; one dictionary may say the kanji are equivalent, while another dictionary may draw distinctions of use. As a result, native speakers of the language may have trouble knowing which kanji to use and resort to personal preference or by writing the word in hiragana. This latter strategy is frequently employed with more complex cases such as もと moto, which has at least five different kanji: Template:Lang, and Template:Lang, the first three of which have only very subtle differences. Another notable example is sakazuki "sake cup", which may be spelt as at least five different kanji: Template:Lang, and Template:Lang; of these, the first two are common—formally Template:Lang is a small cup and Template:Lang a large cup.

Local dialectical readings of kanji are also classified under kun'yomi, most notably readings for words in Ryukyuan languages. Further, in rare cases gairaigo (borrowed words) have a single character associated with them, in which case this reading is formally classified as a kun'yomi, because the character is being used for meaning, not sound.

Most kokuji, Japanese-created Chinese characters, only have kun'yomi, although some have back-formed a pseudo-on'yomi by analogy with similar characters, such as Template:Nihongo2 dō, from Template:Nihongo2 dō, and there are even some, such as Template:Nihongo2 sen "gland", that have only an on'yomi.

Examples

Template:Nihongo2 uketamawaru, Template:Nihongo2 kokorozashi, and Template:Nihongo2 mikotonori have five morae represented by a single kanji, the longest readings in the jōyō character set. These unusually long readings are due to a single character representing a compound word:

• Template:Lang is a single character for a compound verb, one component of which has a long reading.
  • It has an alternative spelling as Template:Lang u(ke)-tamawa(ru), hence (1+1)+3=5.
  • Compare common Template:Lang u(ke)-tsu(keru).
• Template:Lang is a nominalization of the verb Template:Lang which has a long reading kokoroza(su).
  • This is due to its being derived from a noun-verb compound, Template:Lang kokoro-za(su).
  • The nominalization removes the okurigana, hence increasing the reading by one mora, yielding 4+1=5.
  • Compare common Template:Lang hanashi 2+1=3, from Template:Lang hana(su).
• Template:Lang is a triple compound.
  • It has an alternative spelling Template:Lang mi-koto-nori, hence 1+2+2=5.

Further, some Jōyō characters have long non-Jōyō readings (students learn the character, but not the reading), such as omonpakaru for Template:Lang.

Kungana

Template:Nihongo<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> are a type of Man'yōgana (kanji that are used phonemically and that predate modern kana) that make use of the kana's kun'yomi. For example:

• Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo → Template:Nihongo
• Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo → Template:Nihongo
• Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo → Template:Nihongo
• Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo + Template:Nihongo → Template:Nihongo

See also

• On'yomi
• Kanji

References

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