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This sentence appeared in Mainichi the other day:

[1人]【ひとり】のために[10人]【じゅうにん】の未来【みらい】をつぶしていいんですか

Is it okay to destroy the future of ten people for the sake of one person?

Is the reading of 1人 in this case really【ひとり】?

Jisho gives a number of other choices, and I figure they must be good for something:

[１人]【ひとり】
独り【ひとり】
一人【いちにん】
[１人]【いちにん】

Chocolate
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Ned Reif
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1 Answers1

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If it is written with the Arabic numeral, then yes, it should be ひとり.

A dictionary lists three readings for 一人

  1. いちじん : the Emperor
  2. いちにん : the same as ひとり
  3. ひとり : one person

(See the link for precise meanings)

I think 1 and 2 are not in use today. So as long as you are dealing with modern texts, you can assume 一人 is ひとり.

sundowner
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