Japanese

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Kanji in this term
いえど
Hyōgai
kun'yomi
Alternative spelling
言えども (proscribed)

Etymology 1

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From Old Japanese. Attested since at least the Man'yōshū of 759.[1]

Analyzable as 仮定形(かていけい) (kateikei)/已然形(いぜんけい) (izenkei) of verb () (iu, to say) + inflectional suffix (do, indicating contrasting conjunction) + particle (mo).[1][2][3][4]

The kanji spelling is from Middle Chinese via kanbun.[1][2][3][4][5]

Up through the Heian period, the reading ifu to mo was used specifically for hypothetical statements, while the iedo mo reading was used specifically for conditional statements. Over time, this distinction eroded, and by the Edo period, the iedo mo reading was used for both cases.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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(いえど) (iedomoいへども (ifedomo)?

  1. [from 700s] (literary) even though; despite; notwithstanding
Usage notes
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Some style guides may proscribe the alternative spelling 言えども in formal contexts.[7]

Etymology 2

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Kanji in this term
いうと
Hyōgai
irregular
Alternative spelling
言うとも

From Old Japanese. Attested since at least the Man'yōshū of 759.[1]

Analyzable as verb () (iu, to say) + particle (to) + particle (mo).[1]

Up through the Heian period, the reading ifu to mo was used specifically for hypothetical statements, while the iedo mo reading was used specifically for conditional statements. Over time, this distinction eroded, and by the Edo period, the iedo mo reading was used for both cases.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

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Conjunction

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(いうと) (iutomoいふとも (ifutomo)?

  1. [from 700s] (literary, archaic, possibly obsolete) even though; despite; notwithstanding

References

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  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 雖も”, in デジタル大辞泉 [Digital Daijisen]‎[2] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, updated roughly every four months
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. 4.0 4.1 Shinmura, Izuru, editor (1998), 広辞苑 [Kōjien] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN
  5. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  6. ^ 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
  7. ^ Kitahara, Yasuo, editor (2002), 明鏡国語辞典 [Meikyō Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN