Japanese Language Stack Exchange
Japanese Language Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [onyomi]

音読み. A Sino-Japanese reading of kanji. Usually divided into 呉音 "Wu sound", 漢音 "Han sound", 唐音 "Tang sound", and 慣用音; the first three for readings imported from the corresponding Chinese dynasties, the last for exceptional readings.

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How many unique on'yomi are there?

This question is of interest to me because of my own difficulty with remembering on'yomi, as there are fewer possible on'yomi than kun'yomi. So there must be a finite number of valid on'yomi pronunciations, right? The question is, what is this…
Lou
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Does the on'yomi of 輪 (リン) have any relation to the English "ring", or is it a coincidence?

Is there an etymological connection between 輪{リン} as in 車輪{しゃりん} and "ring" in English? Or is this a false cognate?
Lou
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Do we really need to remember the kunyomi and onyomi reading of each kanji?

I am learning how to write kanji using the obenkyo app. I am trying to remember the strokes of each kanji and how to read them (onyomi & kunyomi). But do I really need to remember the onyomi & kunyomi for each of them? I mean there are at least 4-5…
Kakashi
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Why 東南西北 is read トンナンシャーペー in this lyrics?

I expected to read this word as とうなんせいほく but the furigana indicates another reading. I did some search but I only found information about this band: The東南西北
Jason Lint
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Looking Up Whether 御 Is Read お or ご

Is there a good way to look up whether a 御 prefix is お or ご for a word? I know there is the Chinese origin versus Japanese origin thing (mentioned here). But is there a way to look up for a certain word in particular? For example, 御忙しい and 御自分で. The…
Snowy Coder Girl
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Why do onyomis have so many extra syllables?

Onyomis are pronunciations that originate from Chinese. In Chinese, the pronunciation of a character contains exactly one consonant. However, a lot of onyomis have 2 consonants. For example [特別]{とくべつ}. I am wondering why the く and つ sounds are…
Sweeper
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Can a Japanese word combine both on'yomi and kun'yomi characters?

I would like to know whether a Japanese word combining at least two kanji can combine both on'yomi and kun'yomi characters, within the same word.
Jack Maddington
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人 - on'yomi ニン or ジン rule of thumb

I sometimes have trouble figuring out what on'yomi 人 has in unfamiliar jukugo, and was wondering whether there was any kind of rule-of-thumb for figuring it out, assuming it is the only character whose reading is unknown in a compound. Aside from…
archaephyrryx
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音: when alone, what's the difference between おと, ね, おん?

I've seen all of them used alone as a noun, for example: 太鼓のおと, 笛のね, somethingとおなじおん.
Haragurodanshi
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How to pronounce noun compounds

How do I determine the pronounication of compound nouns such as 来年夏. Obviously 来年の夏 is pronounced らいねんのなつ but what happens when I remove the の? Does it just become らいねんなつ? My guess from everything I've read is that it's more likely to use an 音読み…
user3856370
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In compound words what is it called when two Ks assimilate into a っ?

Eg. 厄介、欲求、直径、即興、却下、借金、引っ越す、北海道、積極、薬局 Wouldn't っ normally require the first onyomi to have a tsu ending? Why doesn't it happen in certain words like 加湿器?
vesikaivo
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When is 事業 read as じぎょう and when as ことわざ

I came across the following sentence from the Dictionary of Japanese Grammar series: Ｘ氏は、一方で慈善事業をやりながら、他方でかなりあくどい商売をしているという噂だ。 I think 慈善事業 should be read as じぜんじぎょう. But as I look up the dictionary for confirmation, I noticed 事業 can also be read…
L Parker
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売買の買とbuyの関係はあります？

買 in 売買{ばいばい} is pronounced ばい. The word "to buy", which is the translation of 買う, sounds the same. Is there some sort of connection?! 親父ギャグだけなのか…？
ishikun
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Using 音読み to write foreign names

I'm wondering if it's possible or acceptable for foreigners to use 漢字 to write their names that would usually be written in カタカナ. I know that some names are already Japanese names such as Ben【勉】, Mary【茉莉】, etc., but is it possible to use common 音読み…
bcloutier
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Pattern in onyomi for middle Chinese -p and -ng finals

I've been thinking recently about patterns between onyomi and their respective Chinese counterparts (as presumably existed in middle Chinese and are now reflected across modern Chinese dialects). Japanese certainly does reflect a lot of the…
user6595
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