連濁. A phonological phenomenon in Japanese by which the first consonant of the second component of a compound word often becomes voiced (k→g, s→z, t→d and h→b).
See also
- Rendaku on English Wikipedia
Questions tagged [rendaku]
38 questions
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Why is Katakana not pronounced Katagana?
I am a beginner in Japanese and I've noticed that when two words are compounded into one word the first letter of the second word changes.
hira + kana = hiragana
ko + hayashi = kobayashi
ori + kami = origami
This pattern would imply that the word…
Kantura
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Rules or criteria for 連濁: Voiced or unvoiced syllables in compound words
Examples first.
空 {そら}.
Almost all compound nouns for which 空 is the second component pronounce it as ぞら zora:
青空 {あおぞら}
夜空 {よぞら}
星空 {ほしぞら}.
There is at least one exception though: 美空 {みそら}.
蕎麦 {そば}.
All compound nouns I found so far retain…
Lukman
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Why is the た in 手伝う voiced?
English
In the compound verb 手伝う, we see the following sound change:
て＋つたう→てつだう
Unexpectedly, the た from つたう turns into だ. 連濁, at least with the 手+伝う analysis, can't account for this, because it's not the first consonant of 伝う.
What happened…
Darius Jahandarie
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What is the difference between tori vs. dori?
In Aikido, different dojos seem to latch on to using either dori or tori when describing grabbing attacks. For instance one dojo might say:
Katate Dori
Another would say:
Katate Tori
Each dojo will profess that their way of saying / spelling it is…
Jack B Nimble
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Pronunciation of 対応済
Is the pronunciation of 対応済 たいおうすみ or たいおうずみ ?
Context: Software
Example:
ユーザが押したときに問題が起こらないように対応済
Nicolas Raoul
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7
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Is 株式会社 read as かぶしきがいしゃ or かぶしきかいしゃ?
I've seen the reading of 株式会社 written both with rendaku and without. I can't tell whether the version without rendaku is simply a typo, or a true variant of the word.
Myria
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Is 三角 pronounced "sangaku" in any dialects?
The word 三角 is often used in judo to describe a position enclosing your opponent's head and arm in a "triangle" created by interlocking your legs. However this word is occasionally spelled sangaku (as opposed to the expected sankaku):
37.…
ヤコブ
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Bridging tsu ("つ") when joining two kanji
I am currently studying Japanese grammar through Japanistry's Grammar Guide (https://www.japanistry.com/the-number-system/)
I've come across a section when it says that a reading changes when two kanji join. For example, the Tsu (つ) character may be…
Steve Woods
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Why 一番星 read as Ichibanboshi instead of Ichibanhoshi?
Why do they read as Ichibanboshi? Isn't the Kunyomi of 星 is hoshi?
Moreover, why do 星 is read with Kunyomi? Isn't supposed to be read with it's Onyomi considering that 一番星 is a bunch of kanji without any okurigana?
Lika
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Why does this unvoiced ほ sound become a voiced ぼ sound?
I've seen a couple videos of a Japanese translation of the song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. This Japanese version is titled 「きら きら ぼし」. However, star is 「ほし」.
Why is the ほ sound voiced in the title?
Example of this:…
cloveapple
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what is the meaning of 腹んばいになって?
What is the meaning of 腹んばい and 腹んばいになって？
Also, is it read 「はらんばい」？
I understand that 腹んばい悪い seems to mean 'get mad' (腹が立つ), but this other usage seems like it isn't about anger.
Here is the context from Akutagawa's Nyotai:
楊某
{ようぼう}
…
jlptnone
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Why is there no rendaku occurring in the word ふかふか?
Why isn't the second ふか changed to ぶか in ふかふか; thus, becoming ふかぶか? I would expect to see ふかぶか instead of ふかふか for the same reason that ひとびと is ひとびと, not ひとひと. There is no voicing; thus, Lyman's Law cannot be suppressing it.
The Square Cow
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Why does "Rendaku" not apply in 少々 お待ちください?
I'm thrilled to finally read about Rendaku (連濁) in my learning journey of Japanese, and to realise that ときどき is a simple example of this phenomenon!!
However, "少々" in 少々 お待ちください still remains as "しょうしょう" instead of "しょうじょう" (with tenten on the…
Edwin
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How do you know when to use rendaku? What are the words that always/never use it?
I know there are some words that always have rendaku （花）and some that never use it. Is there a rule for rendaku or does it depend on the word? Thanks in advance!
ヤラユギ
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How does one know when to use ～ふん or ～ぷん when telling time in Japanese?
I'm wondering if there are any linguistic reasons or rules that can be applied to find out which to use, or do I just need to memorize them individually?
Morella Almånd
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