Japanese

edit
Kanji in this term
しず
Grade: 4
kun'yomi
Alternative spellings
靜か (kyūjitai)
閑か

Etymology

edit

Compound of (shizu, bound morpheme indicating “quietness” or “calmness”) +‎ (-ka, suffixing element used to form na adjectives). The shizu portion is cognate with the shizu in 静まる (shizumaru, to become quiet) and 沈む (shizumu, to sink; to set (such as the sun or moon); to become depressed).[1][2] This shizu might also be related to (shita, down; below).

First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

(しず) (shizukaしづか (siduka)?-na (adnominal (しず) (shizuka na), adverbial (しず) (shizuka ni))

  1. inaudible, quiet, silent
    (しず)近所(きんじょ)(この)ましいです。
    Shizuka na kinjo ga konomashī desu.
    I prefer quiet neighbourhoods.
    (しず)です。
    Shizuka desu.
    It's quiet.
    ここでは(しず)歩行(ほこう)(のぞ)みます。
    Koko de wa shizuka na hokō o nozomimasu.
    We prefer an inaudible walk [tread] here.
  2. calm, tranquil
  3. still, stopped and not moving
  4. not busy

Usage notes

edit

For degree, corresponding to the English quietness, both 静かさ (shizukasa) and 静けさ (shizukesa) can be used, but 静けさ (shizukesa) may be more common. Note that shizukesa derives from the related archaic adjective 靜けし (shizukeshi, quiet, calm).

Inflection

edit

Synonyms

edit

Antonyms

edit
edit

References

edit
  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN