Tell me more ×
Japanese Language & Usage Stack Exchange is a question and answer site for students, teachers, and linguists wanting to discuss the finer points of the Japanese language. It's 100% free, no registration required.
up vote 2 down vote favorite

Possible Duplicate:
Is there any difference for compounds with/without okurigana?

I was reading the wikipedia article about yakiniku. I noticed that in the title they use: (焼き肉 or 焼肉).

The wikipedia article for 焼 says it's readings are:

  • On: しょう (shō)
  • Kun: やく (yaku), やき (yaki)

I would like to know why someone would write it as 焼き肉 instead of 焼肉.

share|improve this question
I don't think anyone would read it as しょうにく. – istrasci Nov 19 '12 at 18:51
@istrasci: Why would you write it 焼き肉 instead of 焼肉? – Macarse Nov 19 '12 at 19:00

marked as duplicate by snailboat♦, Dono, Tsuyoshi Ito, Flaw, Zhen Lin Nov 20 '12 at 8:12

This question has been asked before and already has an answer. If those answers do not fully address your question, please ask a new question.

1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

The easy answer is that it's six in one, half a dozen in the other.

The longer answer is that having the き there makes it clear that you're supposed to use the kun-yomi for it. See this question and its answers for a good discussion on on- and kun-yomi.

share|improve this answer
I didn't find info regarding reading as kun-yomi because of the き in that question :( – Macarse Nov 19 '12 at 18:58
2  
@Macarse: Yeah, it was more about general usage for the on- and kun-yomi, but snailplane's link is actually closer to what you were asking specifically :) – silvermaple Nov 20 '12 at 2:34

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.