千本

Japanese

Kanji in this term
千	本
せん Grade: 1	ほん > ぼん Grade: 1
on'yomi

Etymology

Compound of 千 (sen, “one thousand”) +‎ 本 (hon, counter for long slender objects). The hon changes to bon as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) せんぼん [séꜜǹbòǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) せんぼん [sèńbóń] (Heiban – [0]) additional permissible pitch accent for adverbial usage
• IPA^(key): [sẽ̞mbõ̞ɴ]

Noun

千(せん)本(ぼん) • (senbon) 

1. One thousand long slender objects.
   1. Acupuncture needles.
   2. Throwing needles.

Usage notes

• The long slender objects could be small, such as pins or pencils, or large, such as trees.

Proper noun

千(せん)本(ぼん) • (Senbon) 

1. an avenue in Kyōto
2. a train station and the surrounding area in Tatsuno, Hyōgo Prefecture

Usage notes

• This is often also romanized as Sembon.

Further reading

• Suzaku Avenue (modern-day Senbon-dōri) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• Sembon Station on Wikipedia.Wikipedia