36
votes
Accepted
Native Japanese word for フリー
It's because English "free" has two major meanings which are totally different, and no native Japanese word covers both of the two meanings of "free".
Free as in "free WiFi", no charge = 無料
Free as ...
- 306k
23
votes
No word for "time" until 1871?
I think the word [時間]{じかん} was created in the Meiji era, but the word [時]{とき} is older. So it's definitely wrong that "the Japanese didn't have any interest in clocks (until 1871)".
I searched in an ...
- 5,378
21
votes
Accepted
What's the original Japanese word for door, other than the loanword ドア?
Your suspicion is leading you down the right path.
ドア is in fact a loanword from English. According to Jisho.org, ドア is used in reference to a Western-style door. This is a door that opens on ...
- 7,091
20
votes
Accepted
No word for "time" until 1871?
Addendum
The word 時{とき} is probably the oldest native Japanese word for "time". This term appears in the 万葉集{まんようしゅう} written in Old Japanese and compiled from poems composed from the 300s through ...
- 36.8k
15
votes
Accepted
Does the etymology of 星 suggest the japanese/chinese knew the sun was a star?
No, because「星」was not the original character for the word meaning star.
「星」was originally written「晶」:
These are oracle bone script samples, and by that stage stars were already characterised as ...
- 9,075
15
votes
Accepted
Why is ostracism called 村八分【むらはちぶ】?
During the Edo period, villages traditionally had 10 communal activities:
冠 - 成人式 - coming of age ceremony
婚 - marriage
建築 - helping with building/repairing
病気 - helping when sick
水害 - ...
- 8,494
15
votes
Accepted
Why is there a difference between the hand drawn 道 and the pc font one?
I'm assuming that this is a question on the different shapes of the「⻍・⻌」component of「道」.
For reference, the glyph origin of「⻍・⻌」is shown below via the character「過」.「⻍・⻌」is a merger between「彳」and「止」;...
- 9,075
14
votes
Accepted
At what time did furigana start being used?
Short answer: In the words of Ariga, they're "as old as writing itself".¹
Long answer:
You might be surprised to learn that furigana is older than hiragana!
To understand what I mean by that, we'll ...
- 5,409
14
votes
Accepted
Why are Japanese fonts different to Chinese?
I assume you're specifically talking about kanji/hanzi glyphs. (Hiragana are obviously more cursive.) Basically the overall appearances of typical Chinese hanzi and Japanese kanji fonts are not ...
- 306k
13
votes
Does the word 名前 have English roots?
I'd like to add onto ssb's answer, further exploring the etymologies for these terms.
名前【なまえ】
I use Shogakukan's 国語大辞典【こくごだいじてん】 (KDJ) as one of my main sources. This dictionary includes more ...
- 36.8k
12
votes
Accepted
Kun Yomi of Chinese origin, like 竹 (take)
Short answer: probably yes, but we don't know a lot about it.
We don't have enough documentation about the earliest stages of Japanese to be sure, but the consensus is that a bunch of the oldest ...
- 5,409
11
votes
Accepted
Why is this katakana not reversed?
Historical Background
According to the 歴史的{れきしてき}経緯{けいい} section of the 縦書{たてが}きと横書{よこが}き article on the Japanese Wikipedia, apparently in the late 1800s it wasn't altogether uncommon for printed ...
- 36.8k
11
votes
Accepted
The yomikata of 十三
Odd readings of 三: looking back in the history
I've read here and there that researchers think that the Chinese-derived reading さん was originally borrowed as さむ. This is based partly on the ...
- 36.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Why are "loanwords" written in katakana?
Because that's the original purpose of katakana. Katakana was invented to denote the readings of unfamiliar foreign words (although, in those days, "foreign words" mainly referred to words in Asian ...
- 306k
10
votes
Accepted
Why are Japanese characters not used in equations?
Here are some facts, and my speculations.
Actual Usuages
Japanese as Text
In non-technical context, we can use arbitrary text (just like in English) in equations:
長方形について， "面積 = 縦 × 横"
...
- 3,561
10
votes
Accepted
Is the first supposed invention of romaji in 1548 by a Japanese Catholic called Yajiro fact or fiction?
Well, as a hint, historically, the first people who'd have any interest in, or practical need for, writing down Japanese in the Latin alphabet weren't Japanese people. See the Nanban trade article in ...
- 36.8k
10
votes
Accepted
Computer fonts - Small Hane Inkblot Thing
This is one of characteristics of 明朝体, the stylized emphases at the start and end of a brush stroke. In calligraphy, you are instructed to sink down your brush firmly at the beginning of every stroke. ...
- 50.6k
9
votes
Accepted
Why can の and が both mark subjects in relative clauses?
This is actually an interesting little story.
Old Japanese, as far as we can tell, didn't have a dedicated subject marker - if you wanted a subject that wasn't the topic also, you just left it ...
- 7,627
9
votes
Accepted
What's the origin of 助 (saving)?
Imagine you are an ancient Chinese scribe. You want to write the word "to help, to assist", which was something like dzryo (modern Chinese zhù, Japanese jo). However, there's no character for it. You ...
- 5,409
9
votes
Accepted
Origin of ません (-masen)?
According to Shogakukan's big 国{こく}語{ご}大{だい}辞{じ}典{てん}, the verb ending -masu ultimately derived from a combination of humble polite auxiliary verb 参{まい}る plus the verb する, as a shift from either &#...
- 36.8k
9
votes
Why are Japanese fonts different to Chinese?
I basically agree with @naruto's answer - the main reason is that if a Japanese designer chose a relatively unique Japanese font for design aesthetics, it is normally a challenge to get a matching ...
- 9,075
9
votes
Are on’yomi words loanwords?
As far as Japanese is concerned, loanwords (外来語) usually refer to words brought into Japan from countries other than China and written in katakana. But strictly speaking, it depends on how you define ...
- 306k
9
votes
Accepted
Why is ヒョウ the 音読み of 氷?
TL/DR
This is absolutely regular and continues the pronunciation of mid-8th century Chang'an Late Middle Chinese. However, there are details (such as the corresponding go-on) which are not exactly ...
- 2,359
8
votes
Accepted
Why was つ originally used to mark consonant gemination? When was that?
Short summary: Heian-period Japanese acquired new sounds, including a syllable-final -t, a geminated tt, and other geminated consonants. The つ kana, originally tu, was a natural match to write the new ...
- 5,409
8
votes
Accepted
What is the origin of the foreign word サクランボ?
From Japanese (and perhaps some Chinese)
There is no borrowing here, as the opening part explicitly shows Japanese sakura. The etymology is, as most often assumed,
さくらんぼ < 桜{さくら}の坊{ボウ}
, where 坊 ...
- 2,359
8
votes
Unknown kana in a late C19th address cartouche
Per l'électeur's response above, 北ミ:
北, kita
and ミ, mi
三, mi
- 525
8
votes
Differences of words like 先輩 between Japanese, Chinese, and Korean?
There are multiple different facets to your question. Let me try to address at least some of them.
Background
First, some background.
Languages
Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are wholly independent ...
- 36.8k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible