音

*/ʔiəm/ → /əmʉ/ → /omʉ/ → /oɴ/
From Middle Chinese 音 (MC 'im).

(by extension) reading of a Chinese character outside the Japanese language; rime


韻

韻 (canonical)
in (romanization)
ゐん (hiragana historical)

(phonetics) a rhyme group in Chinese rhyme dictionaries, consisting of kanji sharing the same or similar finals


風

Shift from Old Japanese 風 (ti), modern chi above, found in some compounds.


風

ja-pos

風(ふう) • (fū)

/puː/ → /fuː/
From Middle Chinese 風 (MC pjuwng).
In Old Japanese, this kanji was used to transcribe the 借音 (shakuon) kana of ⟨pu⟩ and ⟨bu⟩ in the Nihon Shoki (720 CE).


飄

飄 (canonical)
hyō (romanization)
feu (romanization)
へう (hiragana historical)

/peu/ → /ɸeu/ → /hjoː/
From Middle Chinese 飄 (MC phjiew).


飲

From Middle Chinese 飲 (MC 'imX|'imH).
The kan'on pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing.

(literary) drinking (alcoholic beverages)


養

養 (canonical)
yō (romanization)
yau (romanization)
やう (hiragana historical)


騎

From Middle Chinese 騎 (MC gje|gjeH). Already used phonetically in Old Japanese to spell unvoiced ki, as in the place name 阿騎・安騎 (Aki, a former hunting ground in Nara).
Attested as a counter in the early 1200s, and as a standalone noun in the late 1800s.


鬱

鬱を克服する


魅

魑魅魍魎

魑魅魍魎 ちみもうりょう


魚

魚 (canonical)
uo (romanization)
uwo (romanization)
うを (hiragana historical)

/ɯ⸢o ~ ɯ⸢o⸣/

/uwo/ → /uo/
From Old Japanese.
Ultimately from Proto-Japonic *uwo.

活け魚

live fish and shellfish kept in a tank in a restaurant


魚

魚 (canonical)
io (romanization)
iwo (romanization)
いを (hiragana historical)

/uwo/ → /iwo/ → /io/
Alteration of older uo, appearing from roughly the Heian period. Alternatively this might be the usage of an apophonic form *iwo; compare Proto-Ryukyuan *iwo.
Still used today in some dialects.


魚

魚 (canonical)
gyo (romanization)
ぎよ (hiragana historical)


鮮

鮮 (canonical)
sen (romanization)
せん (hiragana historical)

From Middle Chinese 鮮 (MC sjen|sjenX|sjenH).

全鮮

内鮮一体


鳩

鳩 (canonical)
kyū (romanization)
kiu (romanization)
きう (hiragana historical)

/kiu/ → /kʲuː/
From Middle Chinese 鳩 (MC kjuw).

鳩居

pigeon in a magpie's nest; living in a rented house or apartment

鳩首

putting heads together, consulting in a group

(by extension) gather together (from the way that pigeons flock together)


鵲

From Old Japanese, first appears in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.
Derivation unknown, theories include:
* The initial kasa- may be cognate with or a borrowing from an earlier form of Korean 까치 (kkachi, “magpie”).
* The final -sagi may be a reference to the white chest, alluding to the similar plumage of certain kinds of 鷺 (sagi, “heron, egret”).
* Alternatively, the final -sagi may derive from onomatopoeia, imitative of the bird's call.
* May be a corruption of 烏 (karasu, “crow”) + 鷺 (sagi, “heron, egret”):
*: /karasu saɡi/ → */kasːaɡi/ → /kasasaɡi/
* May be a corruption of カラ (kara, onomatopoeia for cawing, seen in 烏 (karasu), “crow”) + 鷦鷯 (sasagi, “wren”, obsolete):
*: /kara sasaɡi/ → /kasasaɡi/
* May be a corruption of カチカチ (kachikachi, onomatopoeia imitative of the bird's call) + 鷺 (sagi, “heron, egret”):
*: /kat͡ɕikat͡ɕi saɡi/ → */kat̚t͡sasaɡi/ → /kasasaɡi/

(historical) an 鴻 (Ōtori)-class torpedo boat of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II


鶴

Given a crane's long neck and how the bird hunts, possibly related to 蔓 (tsuru, “vine”); 弦 (tsuru, “bowstring; musical instrument string”); 釣る, 吊る (tsuru, “to hang down; to string up; to fish”). Given how cranes flock together, possibly related also to 連る (tsuru), older root form of modern verb 連れる (tsureru, “to accompany”). That said, 連る also appears to ultimately derive from 蔓 (tsuru, “vine”).
Vovin (2008) considers it possibly related to an ancestor of Korean 두루미 (durumi, “crane”), with a root-final -m vanishing later, leaving only a Kansai accent pattern behind. May ultimately be a regional Wanderwort. Compare also Proto-Finno-Ugric *tërka (“crane”), and Proto-Turkic *turńa (“crane”) (whence Turkish turna), Mongolian тогоруу (togoruu, “crane”).
The reading tsuru is first seen used to mean “a crane” from the late Heian period. Prior to that time, the only reading used for the bird was tazu. However, the kanji 鶴 was used in the Man'yōshū (759 CE) as a 借訓 (shakkun) reading for つる (turu → tsuru), the 連体形 (rentaikei, “attributive form”) of つ (tu → tsu, auxiliary verb of affirmation, certainty, or completion), suggesting that tsuru may have already existed as an everyday term meaning “a crane”.

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麑

Shortening of 麑島, obsolete spelling of 鹿(か)児(ご)島(しま) (kagoshima, “Kagoshima”). Pronunciation from Middle Chinese 麑 (MC ngej).

(obsolete) short for 鹿児島／麑島 (Kagoshima, “Kagoshima (a province of Japan)”)


黄

黄 (canonical)
kō (romanization)
kwau (romanization)
くわう (hiragana historical)

From Middle Chinese 黃 (MC hwang).
The kan'on pronunciation, so likely a later borrowing.


黄

黄 (canonical)
ō (romanization)
wau (romanization)
わう (hiragana historical)

From Middle Chinese 黃 (MC hwang).
The goon pronunciation, so likely the initial borrowing.

黄緑色

黄緑色 おうりょくしょく


鼾

From Middle Chinese 鼾 (MC xan|hanH, “snoring”).
Only found in compounds. Not used in isolation.


龍

ja-pos

龍(りゅう) • (Ryū)


び

The hiragana character ひ (hi) with a dakuten (゛).

Hira-dakuten

The hiragana syllable び (bi). Its equivalent in katakana is ビ (bi).


ウ

ウ軍

Ukraino-, Ukrainian; combining form of Ukrainian


ぼう

昴: one of the 28 traditional Japanese constellations, the Pleiades


らい

来: to come; (prefix) the coming, next; (suffix) since


たく

磔: (on'yomi, only used in compounds) a kind of capital punishment, generally crucifixion or quartering


ふう

封: to seal; to close; to lock up; to enfeoff


げい

芸: art; craft; technique; performance; short for 安芸国 (Aki no kuni, “Aki Province”)


わい

Generally regarded as a shift from わし (washi), itself from 私 (watashi, “I, me”). First cited in a text from 1920, but likely older.
The second-person sense of you likely arose via the same general indirection mechanisms that gave rise to all Japanese personal pronouns. Consider also ancient 汝 (na) or more modern 己 (onore), used for both first- and second-person referral. This usage is first cited in a text from 1923, but is likely older.

you (second-person pronoun, used when addressing an equal or inferior)


くち

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of 朽ちる (kuchiru, “to rot”).


もし

From Old Japanese; attested in the Man'yōshū of 759. In turn, reconstructed as deriving from Proto-Japonic *məsi.

もし雨だったら車を借りよう。


ロ

2025 January 6, “ロ、ウクライナ要衝クラホベ占領、クルスク州ではウ軍が再び攻勢”, in Reuters Japan:

abbreviation of ロシア (Roshia, “Russia”); relating to Russia or the Russians


ソニック

ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ w:ja:ソニックシリーズ

(video games) ellipsis of ソニック・ザ・ヘッジホッグ (Sonikku za Hejjihoggu): Sonic the Hedgehog (video game series or the titular character)


シビル

Borrowed from English civil. Only found in compounds, not used in isolation.


紀勢

紀(き) (Ki, Clipping of 紀伊 (“Kii Province”)) + 勢(せい) (Sei, Clipping of 伊勢 (“Ise Province”))

ja-compound

Clipping of <i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">紀伊</i> (“Kii Province”)

Clipping of <i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">伊勢</i> (“Ise Province”)

(history) the Kii Province and the Ise Province in feudal system in Japan.


濃尾

濃(のう) (Nō, Clipping of 美濃 (“Mino Province”)) + 尾(び) (Bi, Clipping of 尾張 (“Owari Province”))

Clipping of <i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">美濃</i> (“Mino Province”)

Clipping of <i class="Jpan mention" lang="ja">尾張</i> (“Owari Province”)

(history) the Mino Province and the Owari Province in feudal system in Japan.