Japanese

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Kanji in this term
へん
Grade: 4
しん
Grade: 3
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
變身 (kyūjitai)
 
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Etymology

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Probably from Middle Chinese as compound 變身 (MC pjenH syin, “change” + “body; self”). Compare modern Mandarin 變身变身 (biànshēn).

First attested in Japanese in 1060.[1]

Pronunciation

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Noun

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(へん)(しん) (henshin

  1. [from 1060] a transformation of one's appearance
  2. [from 1060] shapeshifting, a transformation of one's body, particularly of a human into some other creature or form
  3. [from 1060] an appearance or body so transformed

See also

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Interjection

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(へん)(しん) (henshin

  1. (fiction) Transform!
    A shout called out when metamorphising into one's powerful alter-ego. Found in tokusatsu, mecha and magical girl fiction.

Verb

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(へん)(しん)する (henshin surusuru (stem (へん)(しん) (henshin shi), past (へん)(しん)した (henshin shita))

  1. to transform one's appearance
  2. to shapeshift, to transform physically into some other creature or form

Conjugation

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References

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  1. ^ 変身”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ^ 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
  4. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN