Japanese

edit

Etymology 1

edit
Kanji in this term
なか
Grade: 6
irregular
Alternative spellings
御腹
御中

Compound of (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ (naka, insides; innards, stomach). Originally coined as a deliberately indirect 女房詞 (nyōbō kotoba, woman's word) for (hara, belly, gut).[1][2]

The use of the character to spell (naka) appears to be a relatively recent shift; many dictionaries still list 御中 or お中 as the standard spelling for this term,[1][2][3][4] but usage trends clearly show that this お腹 spelling is now more common for the belly senses.

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

(なか) (onaka

  1. belly, tummy, stomach, abdomen
Derived terms
edit

Etymology 2

edit
Kanji in this term
はら
Grade: 6
kun'yomi

Compound of (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ (hara, stomach, belly).[1]

Pronunciation

edit

Noun

edit

(はら) (ohara

  1. (archaic, possibly obsolete, honorific) a person used as a form of mildly honorific indirect reference to someone
  2. (uncommon) one's mother, specifically one's birth mother
  3. (uncommon, honorific) someone's belly

References

edit
  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN