醜女

See also: 丑女

Chinese

		shameful; ugly; disgraceful	female; woman; daughter
trad. (醜女)		醜	女
simp. (丑女)		丑	女

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): chǒunǚ

  (Zhuyin): ㄔㄡˇ ㄋㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): cau² neoi⁵, cau² neoi^5-2

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: chǒunǚ [Phonetic: chóunǚ]
    • Zhuyin: ㄔㄡˇ ㄋㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: chǒunyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: chʻou³-nü³
    • Yale: chǒu-nyǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: choouneu
    • Palladius: чоунюй (čounjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /ʈ͡ʂʰoʊ̯²¹⁴⁻³⁵ ny²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: cau² neoi⁵, cau² neoi^5-2
    • Yale: cháu néuih, cháu néui
    • Cantonese Pinyin: tsau² noey⁵, tsau² noey^5-2
    • Guangdong Romanization: ceo² nêu⁵, ceo² nêu^5-2
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sʰɐu̯³⁵ nɵy̯¹³/, /t͡sʰɐu̯³⁵ nɵy̯¹³⁻³⁵/

Noun

醜女

1. ugly woman

Synonyms

• 嫫母 (mómǔ)
• (Cantonese) 豬扒／猪扒 (zhūpá)
• (Wu) 無鹽女／无盐女 (wúyánnǚ)

Derived terms

• 十七十八無醜女／十七十八无丑女

 

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
醜	女
ぶ Grade: S	おんな Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 醜 (bu, “ugly”) +‎ 女 (onna, “woman”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ぶお​んな [bùóꜜǹnà] (Nakadaka – [2])
• IPA^(key): [bɯ̟ᵝõ̞nːa̠]

Noun

醜(ぶ)女(おんな) • (buonna) ^{←ぶをんな (bwonna)?}

1. an ugly woman

Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms

• 醜女(しこめ) (shikome) (see below)
• 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see below)
• 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
• ぶす (busu)
• おかちめんこ (okachimenko)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
醜	女
しこ Grade: S	め Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of 醜 (shiko, “ugly; ferocious”) +‎ 女 (me, “woman”).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しこめ [shìkómé] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [ɕiko̞me̞]

Noun

醜(しこ)女(め) • (shikome) 

1. an ugly demon-woman or hag from the underworld
2. 938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 1, pages 44-45:

   醜女 日本紀私紀云、醜女、志古女、或説黄泉之鬼也、今世人爲恐小兒稱許々女者此語之訛也。

   Hags The Nihongi Private Records call them hags, Japanese shikome, certain legends say they're demons of Yomi, nowadays people become afraid of small children calling them such women, this term is dialectic.

3. an ugly woman

Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms

(ugly woman):

• 醜女(ぶおんな) (buonna) (see above)
• 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see below)
• 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
• ぶす (busu)
• おかちめんこ (okachimenko)

See also

• 美女(びじょ) (bijo): beautiful woman
• 醜男(ぶおとこ) (buotoko): ugly man

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
醜	女
しゅう Grade: S	じょ Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 醜女／丑女 (tsyhuw^X nrjo^X, literally “ugly + woman”). Compare modern Mandarin reading chǒu nǚ.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) しゅ​うじょ [shúꜜùjò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɕɨᵝːʑo̞]

Noun

醜(しゅう)女(じょ) • (shūjo) ^{←しうぢよ (siudyo)?}

1. an ugly woman

Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms

• 醜女(しこめ) (shikome) (see above)
• 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see above)
• 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
• ぶす (busu)
• おかちめんこ (okachimenko)

References

• Minamoto, Shitagō with Kyōto Daigaku Bungakubu Kokugogaku Kokubungaku Kenkyūshitu (931–938) Shohon Shūsei Wamyō Ruijushō: Honbunhen (in Japanese), Kyōto: Rinsen, published 1968, →ISBN.