倭琴

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
倭	琴
わ Jinmeiyō	ごん Grade: S
on’yomi

Probably coined in Japan of Middle Chinese-derived components, as a compound of 倭 (wa, “Japan, Japanese”) +‎ 琴 (gon, “koto, zither”).

Alternative forms

• 和琴

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) わごん [wàgóń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɰᵝa̠ɡõ̞ɴ]

Noun

倭(わ)琴(ごん) • (wagon) 

1. Alternative spelling of 和琴: (music) a six-stringed koto or zither used to perform kagura music, more common in ancient times

Usage notes

The 和琴 spelling is much more common, due to the dwarf connotations of the 倭 character.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
倭	琴
やまと Jinmeiyō	こと > ごと Grade: S
kun’yomi

Compound of 倭 (Yamato, ancient name for Japan) +‎ 琴 (koto, “a koto, a zither”). The koto changes to goto as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Alternative forms

• 大和琴

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) やまとご​と [yàmátógóꜜtò] (Nakadaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [ja̠ma̠to̞ɡo̞to̞]

Noun

倭(やまと)琴(ごと) • (yamatogoto) 

1. Alternative spelling of 大和琴: (music) a six-stringed koto or zither used to perform kagura music, more common in ancient times

Usage notes

The 大和琴 spelling is much more common, due to the dwarf connotations of the 倭 character.