Japanese edit

Kanji in this term

Grade: 5
kun’yomi

Etymology edit

First cited to a text from 1823.[1]

This appears to be a compound of (su-, stem of adjective () (sui, sour), in turn from () (su, vinegar)) +‎ っぱい (-ppai, -ish, having that quality, suffix entailing negative overtones).[1]

  • The suffix -ppai may be related to more neutral suffix っぽい (ppoi, -ish).[2][3]
  • Alternatively, the suffix may represent a reanalysis of the -ppai ending in adjective 塩っぱい (shoppai, salty), where the ending derives from 映ゆい (hayui, dazzling; very much that quality; too much that quality). While there are historically attested examples of shoppai evolving from shio + hayushi (the classical form), where しほはゆし (shihohayushi) first appears in the late 1500s,[4] there are no such attestations for the more recent word suppai.[1]

Pronunciation edit

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "酸っぱい"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 酸っぱく っぱ [sùppáꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 酸っぱい っぱ [sùppáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 酸っぱい っぱ [sùppáꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 酸っぱくない っぱくない [sùppáꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 酸っぱかった っぱかった [sùppáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 酸っぱくなかった っぱくなかった [sùppáꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 酸っぱいです っぱいです [sùppáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 酸っぱくて っぱくて [sùppáꜜkùtè]
Conditional 酸っぱければ っぱければ [sùppáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective edit

()っぱい (suppai-i (adverbial ()っぱく (suppaku))

  1. [from 1823] sour

Inflection edit

Related terms edit

References edit

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. ^ 酸っぱい/すっぱい - Gogen Yurai Jiten (in Japanese)
  3. ^ すっぱい【酸っぱい】の語源・由来 (Etymology/Origin of SUPPAI) - Etymology Encyclopedia (in Japanese)
  4. ^ 鹹映・塩映”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[2] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  5. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  7. ^ 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