Appendix:Japanese glossary

A glossary of Japanese linguistic terms used in the body of this dictionary. see also Appendix:Glossary for terms not specific to Japanese.

Contents:	A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

• Ateji (当て字) – kanji representing a sound that is not from the original phoneme associated with the kanji's used reading. Example: 寿(す)司(し) (on’yomi is associated with Sinitic phoneme, but the word is non-Sinitic), 時(と)計(けい) (originally unrelated kanji 土(と)圭(けい)). In some ateji, kanji is chosen to make it a phono-semantic matching, e.g. 大(おお)喜(ぎ)利(り).

C

• Commonly used kanji – English translation of Jōyō kanji.

D

• Daiyōji (代用字) - a kanji in the jōyō kanji or tōyō kanji list that is used to replace another kanji not in the list. The two kanji are usually homophonic or semi-homophonic.

G

• Goon (呉音) - the kanji pronunciation before the arrival of Kan’on. One of the on’yomi categories. Goon is the earliest of all borrowed pronunciations, mostly used in Buddhist terms.
• Grade n kanji – one of the grade divisions of the kyōiku kanji (educational kanji) ranging from 1 through 6. "Grade S" refers to kanji taught in secondary school.

H

• Hyōgaiji (表外字) – kanji outside the jōyō kanji and jinmeiyō kanji lists; most (but not all) such kanji are written in kyūjitai (traditional characters).

J

• Jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字) – kanji used for names per the official list, supplement to jōyō kanji. May mean either just the jinmeiyō kanji, or jōyō kanji and jinmeiyō kanji, meaning “all kanji on official lists”. Opposite of hyōgaiji.
• Jōyō kanji (常用漢字) – commonly used kanji, per official list.
• Jūbakoyomi (重箱読み) - pronunciation of a two-kanji compound, with the first kanji on’yomi and the second kun’yomi.
• Jukujikun (熟字訓) – an inseparable reading of a multi-kanji term, e.g. 今日(きょう). Also known as 義訓 (gikun).

K

• Kanji (漢字) Chinese characters that are used in the Japanese writing system.
• Kan’on (漢音) - the kanji pronunciation brought to Japan during the Japanese missions to Tang China. One of the on’yomi categories. Kan’on resembles the contemporary Chang'an Chinese dialect, and is more systematic compared to other borrowings.
• Kan’yōon (慣用音) - the kanji pronunciation derived from a corrupted or changed form of other regular on’yomi. One of the on’yomi categories.
• Kun’yomi (訓読み) – a reading of a kanji that is not derived from the kanji's original pronunciation borrowed from Chinese.
  • Most kun'yomi are of native Japonic origin, with a few exceptions:
    1. Borrowed from Chinese, but attributed to a different kanji, e.g. 酷(ひど)い (hidoi) from Chinese-derived 非(ひ)道(どう) (hidō).
    2. Borrowed from languages other than Chinese, e.g. 哩(マイル) (mairu).
       • Most of this kind of kun'yomi are dated, and are now replaced by pure katakana, e.g. マイル.
  • Kun’yomi is limited to single-kanji readings. For similar readings of inseparable multi-kanji terms, see jukujikun.
• Kokuji (国字) - kanji made specifically for the Japanese language. Some of these have been adopted into other languages that use Chinese characters.
• Kyōiku kanji (教育漢字) – Elementary school kanji; literally, “educational kanji”. The elementary level of the jōyō kanji, divided into 6 grades.
• Kyūjitai (旧字体) – Japanese traditional characters; literally “old character forms”. Opposite to shinjitai. Virtually identical to Chinese traditional characters, with occasional differences. Used for hyōgaiji and in pre-shinjitai texts. Some jōyō kanji are kyujitai, e.g. 籠.

N

• Nanori (名乗り) – special kanji readings used exclusively in Japanese names. The nanori reading of a kanji is often a pronunciation assumed from its synonym or near-synonym.

O

• On’yomi (音読み) – a reading of a kanji that is derived from the kanji's original pronunciation borrowed from Chinese, or rarely as in kan’yōon, misunderstood as being so. On’yomi readings are generally categorized into goon, kan’on, tōon and kan’yōon.
  • On'yomi is a "closed" category, i.e, it does not acquire new members. New borrowings of Chinese characters' pronunciations after the 20th century are generally not considered to be on'yomi.
• Okurigana (送り仮名) – kana suffixes following kanji stems. For example, in 見る, る is okurigana.

R

• Rendaku (連濁) – voicing of an unvoiced initial consonant in a non-initial component of a word. Usually seen when joining words or morphemes together and in reduplication.
• Renjō (連声) – sandhi, a kind of sound fusion between morphemes, such as 天(てん)皇(のう) whose pronunciation is not ten’ō (ten + ō), but tennō. Compare Middle English nekename, from reinterpreting an ekename as a nekename; see also earlier Middle English ekename (“nickname”).

S

• Shinjitai (新字体) – Japanese simplified characters; literally “new character forms”. Opposite to kyūjitai. Used for all regulated kanji, meaning jinmeiyō kanji, including jōyō kanji.

T

• Tōon (唐音) - the kanji pronunciation brought to Japan since the Kamakura period, with some as late as in the Qing dynasty. One of the on’yomi categories. Tōon is relatively rare and irregular. Also called sōon (宋音) or tōsōon (唐宋音).

U

• Uncommon kanji – English translation of Hyōgaiji.

Y

• Yutōyomi (湯桶読み) - pronunciation of a two-kanji compound, with the first kanji kun’yomi and the second on’yomi.