See also: 絕對 and 绝对

Japanese edit

Kanji in this term
ぜつ > ぜっ
Grade: 5
たい
Grade: 3
goon
Alternative spellings
絕對 (kyūjitai)
絶待 (obsolete)

Etymology edit

Coined by Japanese philosopher Inoue Tetsujirō in 1881 in his work 哲学字彙 (Tetsugaku Jii, Dictionary of Philosophy) as a translation of English absolute, based on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (法華玄義), changing the spelling from 絶待 to 絶対.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation edit

Adjective edit

(ぜっ)(たい) (zettai-na (adnominal (ぜっ)(たい) (zettai na), adverbial (ぜっ)(たい) (zettai ni))

  1. absolute, limitless
  2. certain, definite

Adverb edit

(ぜっ)(たい) (zettai

  1. absolutely, definitely, certainly

Usage notes edit

Seldom used on its own as a な-adjective, but more commonly in compounds. More often used adverbially on its own as 絶対 (zettai ni). More often used adjectivally as 絶対的 (zettaiteki).

Inflection edit

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Noun edit

(ぜっ)(たい) (zettai

  1. absoluteness, an absolute, unlimitedness

Synonyms edit

Antonyms edit

Derived terms edit

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ 絶対”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  3. ^ Inoue, Tetsujirō (1881) 哲学字彙[2], University of Tokyo, page 1
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  5. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN