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Furthermore, are there any other words that retained their larger, pronounced つ when this change occurred?

Edit: 仏像 seems to be another one.

jogloran
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wanwandrew
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1 Answers1

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It's because 在 (ざい) starts with a voiced sound (z). You usually don't see a sokuon before voiced sounds, except in gairaigo.

Axe
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    For a second I was going to mention 仏陀 as a counterexample but then realized it’s also technically a gairaigo – Darius Jahandarie Feb 27 '22 at 03:59
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    I guess the emphasis pattern which uses sokuon (like すっごい、ひっどい etc) is the only place you’d normally see a sokuon followed by a voiced kana happen in a normal wago/kango. But that’s largely a colloquialism that’s only partially accepted in writing. – Darius Jahandarie Feb 27 '22 at 04:05
  • @DariusJahandarie I believe that is the only genuine exception, considering 仏壇 has regularly developed into ぶつだん. – broccoli facemask Mar 02 '22 at 15:14