Reconstruction:Proto-Japonic/təwə

This Proto-Japonic entry contains reconstructed terms and roots. As such, the term(s) in this entry are not directly attested, but are hypothesized to have existed based on comparative evidence.

Proto-Japonic

Proto-Japonic numbers ^(edit)

←  1	←  9	10	1,000  →	10,000  →
		1
Cardinal: *təwə

Etymology

Possibly cognate with Goguryeo 德 (*tək).

According to Ono (1970), related to *tawa or *təwə (“bend”) from the common hand-counting method of showing the number 10 by bending all fingers over the bent thumb, although this is rejected by Miller (1971), who instead proposed a relationship with Proto-Tungusic *ʒuban (“ten”).

However, the Altaic hypothesis is nowadays widely rejected, so the Tungusic comparison remains unlikely.

Numeral

*təwə

1. ten

Descendants

• Old Japanese: 十 (to₂wo)
  • Japanese: 十 (tō)
• Proto-Ryukyuan: *towo
  • Northern Ryukyuan:
    • Kikai: 十 (θū)
    • Kunigami: 十 (thū)
    • Northern Amami-Oshima: 十 (θū)
    • Okinawan: 十 (tū)
    • Oki-No-Erabu: 十 (tū)
    • Southern Amami-Oshima: 十 (tū)
    • Toku-No-Shima: 十 (tū)
    • Yoron: 十 (tū)
  • Southern Ryukyuan:
    • Miyako: 十 (tū)
    • Yaeyama: 十 (tū)
    • Yonaguni: 十 (tū)