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There was already a discussion here, with examples

Reading of prefix 大

but what about for 大イベント?

I was hoping one could generalize that 大+katakana=【だい】, but at least one word seems to contradict that theory:

オオアルマジロ 《大アルマジロ》 【おおアルマジロ】 (n) (uk) giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus)

So what about 大イベント?

Is it 【おおイベント】 or 【だいイベント】?

It appeared here

https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/economy/20220103-OYT1T50112/

in the sentence

人生【じんせい】の大イベントを諦【あきら】める――。

Giving up on life's big events--that's what it's all about.

Eddie Kal
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Ned Reif
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1 Answers1

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It is だいイベント.

My impression is that だい is more common in most cases, apart from animals/insects etc., like you mention. You can think those おお derive from [大型]{おおがた}.

Another possible hint is you can replace the word following 大 by something else of the same category: [大災害]{だいさいがい}.

#I mean above simply as a sort of mnemonic, and not something linguistically valid.

sundowner
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