Japanese

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Kanji in this term
しろ
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Etymology

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Modern form of Old Japanese adjective しろし (shiroshi).

⟨siro1si⟩ (classical 終止形 (shūshikei) or terminal form) → ⟨siro1ki1 (classical 連体形 (rentaikei) or attributive form) → /siroi/ (modern shūshikei and rentaikei)

An intervocalic sound-change caused the medial plosive /-k-/ to undergo voicing, then spirantization, then gliding, then being dropped, before /-i, -u, -e, -o/ (Hamano, 2000).

⟨siro1ki1 → */sirʷokʲi/ → */sirʷogʲi/ → */sirʷoɣi/ → */sirʷoji//siroi/[ɕiɾo̞i].

Pronunciation

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  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「白い
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 白く ろく
[shíꜜròkù]
[shìróꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 白い [shìróꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 白い [shìróꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 白くない ろくない
くない
[shíꜜròkùnàì]
[shìróꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 白かった ろかった
かった
[shíꜜròkàttà]
[shìróꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 白くなかった ろくなかった
くなかった
[shíꜜròkùnàkàttà]
[shìróꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 白いです いです [shìróꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 白くて ろくて
くて
[shíꜜròkùtè]
[shìróꜜkùtè]
Conditional 白ければ ろければ
ければ
[shíꜜròkèrèbà]
[shìróꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

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(しろ) (shiroi-i (adverbial (しろ) (shiroku))

  1. white

Inflection

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References

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  • 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
  • Hamano, S. Journal of East Asian Linguistics (2000) 9: 207. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1008367619295