破瓜
Chinese edit
to break; to split; broken to break; to split; broken; damaged; worn out |
melon; claw; gourd melon; claw; gourd; squash | ||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (破瓜) | 破 | 瓜 | |
simp. #(破瓜) | 破 | 瓜 |
Etymology edit
The shape of the character 瓜 can be decomposed into two 八 (“eight”), thus “breaking 瓜” is used to euphemistically refer to reaching the age of 8+8 (=16) for girls, and 8×8 (=64) for men.
Pronunciation edit
Verb edit
破瓜
- (literary, of a girl) to reach the age of 16
- (literary, figurative, of a girl) to lose one's virginity
- (literary, of a man) to reach the age of 64
See also edit
Japanese edit
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
破 | 瓜 |
は Grade: 5 |
か Jinmeiyō |
on’yomi | kan’on |
Etymology edit
Similar to the sense development of Chinese 破瓜 (pòguā), the shape of the character 瓜 (literally “gourd”) can be 破 (“broken”) or decomposed into two 八 (“eight”) characters, thus “breaking 瓜” is used to euphemistically refer to reaching the age of 8+8 (=16) for girls, and 8×8 (=64) for men.[1][2][3][4]
The girls' age sense is cited to the late 1600s. The men's age sense is cited to the early 1700s. The sexual sense is cited to the late 1800s.[1]
Pronunciation edit
Noun edit
- the age of 16 for a girl
- the age of 64 for a man
- (by extension from the age 16 sense) the breaking of the hymen through sexual intercourse
- (by extension from the age 16 sense) hebephrenia, disorganized schizophrenia: a type of schizophrenia with onset typically occurring during adolescence
Derived terms edit
- 破瓜期 (hakaki): adolescence, puberty
- 破瓜病 (hakabyō): hebephrenia
References edit
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN