Japanese Handbook
Short Description
Japanese Language...
Description
--CO lc\J
!^ *o fen
A
HANDBOOK COLLOQUIAL JAPANESE
BASIL HALL CHAMBERLAIN IN THE EMERITUS PROFESSOR OF JAPANESE AND PHILOLOGY IMPERIAL UNIVERSITY OF TOKYO '
Third Edition
LONDON TOKYO
:
:
SAMPSON LOW, MARSTON, &
THE SHUYEISHA,
Co., LD.
ICHIGAYA.
KELLY & WALSH,
LD.
YOKOHAMA, SHANGHAI, HONGKONG, SINGAPORE.
1898 [All rights reserved]
PREPACK TO THE
THIRD EDITION. THIS
edition,
though revised with great forerunners
reproduces its small quantity of
practically 1889.
A
of
care,
1888 and
new matter added
to the
" Theoretical Part," or Grammar proper, for completeinto the old paragraphs ness' sake, has been absorbed Thus, references to without disturbing their order. Colloquial Handbook author has writing which the intelligible
a
in
the
in
manual of Japanese view, will be equally
to students, whichever edition they
In
-Practical
the
happen to possess. had Reader, one or two pieces that a new piece have been dropped, and
may
Part,"
or
lost their interest
an extract from
substituted. the debates in the Imperial Diet has been to Thanks are due many correspondents some for correcto the author unknown of them personally will always criticism Similar tions and suggestions. of a be gratefully received in the future for in the case as difficult Japanese, the language so exceptionally ;
can utmost that any grammarian, however painstaking, far short of the ideal,
falls hope to produce necessarily the saying holds good that and here, if anywhere,
multitude of counsellors there
is
safety.
in
PREFACE.
11
Such students as desire
to pass
beyond modern
colloquial practice into the field of philological research are recommended to peruse Mr. Aston's Grammar of the Japanese Written
work embodying
all
Language,
an admirably lucid
the best results obtained
native school of grammarians,
by the
and the present writer's and Dictionary of the
Essay in Aid of a Grammar Luchuan Language ("Trans. Asiat. Soc. of Japan," Vol. XXIII. Suppl.), wherein an attempt has been made to attack some of the problems of Japanese philology from the outside. Tokyo, December,
TABLE OF CONTENTS. (THEORETICAL PART, OR
GRAMMAR.) CHAPTER
I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. Method
I,
Learning
of using
Languages.
this
Heart.
by ^[
^f
Handbook.^" 3,
4, Differences
nese, Introduction of Chinese. 6.
Relationship
^[ 10,
f
Errors
8,
Necessity
of Japanese
for
much
to
Other
Modern JapaPronunciation of Chinese. ^[
between Ancient and ^f
Preference for Chinese Words.
Syllabaries.
2,
5,
^[ 7,
Japanese Writing, the Kana
Literature.^ 9, Parts of Speech. which European Speakers are Apt to
Colloquial into
PAGE
Fall
CHAPTER
n.
i
II.
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES. Vowels, Short and Long. 19, Vowel [ 14 Quiescent Vowels. ^[ 20 22, Diphthongs. \ 23 Final Letters. \ 27, 25, Consonants, Simple and Double. ^[ 26, Accent f 2832, Letter-Changes, the Nigori, Reduplication of
II, Letters.
\ 1213,
Peculiarities,
Consonants.
\
33,
Change
of e to a in certain
Compounds.
^[
Japanese Inability to Pronounce certain Combinations of Letters, Changes hence Resulting in Imported European Words. \ 35,
34,
Euphonic Contractions
PA
E 12
26
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
IT
CHAPTER
III.
THE NOUN. Tf
3644, Number and of
Synthesis
Chinese
^f
f
Names
\
between
54,
Toki. 63,
^[
Koto and Mono.
Rivers, 58,
Islands,
^[
55,
^[
Names
52,
^[
59,
as Adjectives.
Nouns
of Shops.
and Mountains.
Tokoro, Dokoro.
Nouns used
Nouns,
Native
*[[
in sa ^[
56,
57, Aida,
Verbs used as Nouns.
IF
64,
Nouns used as
PAGE
Adverbs
CHAPTER
and
Word -build ing, Proper
50,
T[
Compound
49,
51, Honorifics in Word-building.
53
of Trees,
60
45
^[
Difference
Compounds, Hyphens.
Names. and mi.
Hazrt,
Gender.
Contradictories,
27
45.
IV.
THE PRONOUN. Tf
7 1, Personal Pronouns.
\ 72, Reflective Pronouns. \ 73 Demonstrative, Interrogative, and Indefinite Pronouns and Adverbs (^[ 74, Table of Pronouns and Adverbs). \ 80 86,
65
79,
PAGE 46
Relative Pronouns, Tokoro no
CHAPTER THE 1[
61.
V.
POSTPOSITION.
Proper (including \ 88 90, De. ^[ 91 94, \ 95 98, Ka. \ 99 100, Kara. \ 101, Made. ^[ 102, Mo. f 103, Motte.\ 104109, M. f 110114, No.^ 115, Dcino.\ 116, SJd.\ 117121, To, Tote\ 122125, 126128, Difference between Wa and Ga.* 129132, Wo. f !33 Ya. \ 134, Ye. ^[ 135, Yori). 140, Postpositions *[ 136 Combined, No ni, Woba To iva. ^[ 141 145, Cjuasi-Postpositions PAGE 62 TOO.
87,
Postpositions
Ga.
Wa\
t
CHAPTER
VI.
THE NUMERAL. *]
146, Cardinal
1
152,
Numbers
(including
Chinese Numerals.^"
\
153,
147
151, Native
Letter-Changes
Numerals. of
Chinese
V
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Numerals.
156,
154-
^f
^ 157160, Chinese Auxiliary Numerals.^
of
Peculiarities
Sundry
Numerals.
Auxiliary
Numerals).
Native
161,
[[
Counting of Human Beings. 1 66, Ordinal and *[[ 165, Interrogative Numeral Words. ^[ 163 of Time. Fractional Numbers. 167 172, Counting ^[ 173 ^[ PAGE 101 119. 174, Miscellaneous Numeral Locutions 162,
CHAPTER
VII.
THE ADJECTIVE. I
Inflections in ki t
176185, Primary
kit
s/ii,
Nai.
tive
1"i89,
192, Beki.
Tf
it),
Adjective or
^[ 188, Negative AdjecNegative Conjugation of Adjectives. ^f 190, Ex-
Mood
amples of Tense and tives.
d,
(i,
186187, Secondary
Stems, Table of Primary Inflections.^ Tense and Mood Inflections, Tables of ditto.
Inflections. ^[ 191,
Compound Adjec\ 194,
193, Desiderative Adjective in Ted.
*[[
Rashii, Reduplicated Stems. f 195, Garu and Tagaru, Verbs Derived from Adjectives. \ 196 210, Quasi-Adjectives (including
\
198, So na. \ 205 *[[ 197, No, Na, Na no, and Emphatic Nan. 209, Common Errors of ^[ 208 207, Verbs used as Adjectives.
\
Foreigners.
Honorifics T[
215
o,
210,
go, etc.).
Diminutives in ko, Augmentatives in d, and 211 214, Comparison of Adjectives. ^f
PAGE 120
219. Miscellaneous Items
CHAPTER
148.
VIII.
THE VERB. [
220, Fundamental
Verbs.
^[
Base,
and
Bases.
^f
221
Differences
Agglutinated 226, Verbs
on the Paradigms. Conjugations.
Kuru,
Sttrzt,
Peculiarities Peculiarities.
ending in of the
s, t t
^[
*[[
228
^[
230,
Forms
223,
f
and European
into Root, Stem,
Roots.
224
^[
227, Introductory
225,
Remarks
Paradigms of the Three Regular of the Irregular Verbs
233, Paradigms
231
First
Suffix.
how Named.
and Masu. of
between Japanese
222, Analysis of Verbal
\
234, Verbs for Practice.
Conjugation
(with Table).
\ \
235
238,
237,
Kyoto
Rationale of Phonetic Changes in Stems ^[ 239, or a Vowel. 267, Analysis of the Formation ^[ 240
Moods and
Tenses.
^[
268
272,
Irregular
Verbs,
viz.,
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Arn, Gozaru, IrassJiaru, Kudasaru, Nasaru, Osshani, Iktt, and Shinum. ^[ 273 291, Remarks on the Use of the Moods and Tenses (including
ed Gerund.
Gerund
of Adjectives.
^[
284, Emphasis-
^[
and Adjective of ProConditional Mood, Old
285, Desiderative Adjective
^[
f
bability.
^[283,
277,
^[
Form and Negative Gerund.
279, Indefinite
282, Gerund.
280
and Future.
276, Present, Past,
273
^[
f 278
Infinitive.
Form
286,
in
f
so.
287,
Hypothetical Mood, Naraba, Elliptical Idioms Corresponding to English Would, Should, Could, etc. \ 288 289, Concessive Mood and Idioms. \ 290, Frequentative Form. \ 291, Imperative
\
Mood).
292
^[
Yarn.
301,
Auxiliaries.
Tenses.
Illative ^[
\
Shimau.
299,
Miru.
296,
300,
^[
make
Auxiliaries
302,
^[
Verbs (including ^[ 292, Stems ^ 293, Aru. *[ 294, Iru and
Auxiliary
302,
up by means of Oru. ^[ 295, Kuru, A raraba. *[ 298, Oku.
Built
Sentence
the
297,
[[
Suru, Itasu. Lifelike
PAGE 149197.
and Picturesque)
CHAPTER
IX.
THE VERB (CONCLUDED). Passive
303,
Voice.
Peculiarities of
Passive
\
tial.
\
its
\
Use.
304, ^[
305
Constructions, Aru.
Dekiru.
310,
*[[
^[
of Passive Origin explains 308, Curious Examples, Wo in 309, Passive passes into Poten-
311, Kaneru.
\
Morau, Itadaku.
312,
Passives expressed by Japanese Intransitives. ^[ 314, Aversion of the Japanese Language to the Use of the Pas313, English
316, Intransitives in eru. ^[ 317318, Difference T[ 315 between Intransitives in eru, Potentials in ctreru or rareru, and
sive.
Passives in areru or rareru.
how
gations ^[
321
Treated.
Transitive and
323,
Absence of Reflective
\ 334 the
O
to
Be,"
\ 325 Verbs. \
359361,
Other.
361, as
Present Tense)
Intransitives.
Pairs of Verbs.
Intransitive
ide nasartt, Ja, Narti, Surti.
(^[
of
Examples
Causative
333,
341
349,
\
324,
Verbs.
Equivalents
of
Aru, Gozaru, Da, Dcsu, Jru, Oru, Irassliaru,
Jirit).f
Verbs used
Second and Third Conju-
319,
Verbs.
Compound
340,
Verb "
^[
320,
^[
Verbs
^[
Liable
350 to
358, Surti (^ 353, Zunt, be Mistaken for Each
Paradigm of Iru, Ireru, and Other Paris of Speech
([[
Irtt).
364,
^[
362
365,
Reduplication of
PAGE
198
230.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
VII
X.
THE ADVERB, INTERJECTION, AND CONJUNCTION. SPECIAL PHRASEOLOGY. True Adverbs.
366, Absence of
used
f f
371,
373,
Adverbial
Adjective Forms in ku as Adverbs.
367,
Tf
Phrases.
384,
Interjections
Bad
Langage.
f
Language. tions
^f
368370, Nouns used Phonetic Decay. f 372, Gerunds used " Yes " and List of Adverbs. If 374376,
Adverbially.
^f
f
Onomatopoetic Adverbs. Naruhodo. f 383,
378,
Baby
386,
Court
388,
^ 379~
Ne\\
382,
(f
as Adverbs. " No." f 377,
Language.
f
Language.
..
CHAPTER
385,
f 387, Women's 389391, ConjuncPAGE 23 1 243.
XI.
HONORIFICS. General
393,
30,2
396,
\
O and
398,
Go.
Considerations.
394,
^f
the Pronouns of other
Replace
Partially
397,
-*[f
used
Honorifics
Sama
applied to
Objectively.
Meaningless Use of Honorifics. Honorific Periphrases for Verbs.
^f
\
401,
Honorifics
Things
399,
O
On, Mi.
or
Saki.
\
only
\ 395
Languages.
Acts.
\
402
400,
404,
Honorific If 405406, Special \ 407410, Honorific Imperatives. " Please" arid "Thank You." 413, Special Honorific If 4*2 If 411, and Humble Nouns, Names of Relationship. ^f 414, Written
and
Humble
Language Forms.
\
Verbs.
Forms. 416,
Women's Names.
^f
Sir,
f
415,
Scantiness
Madam, Mr. 419,
Use
of
Self-Depreciatory
417, Mrs, Miss. ^f 418, of the Word " Mr." ... PAGE 244259. ^f
CHAPTER
XII.
SYNTAX. [
420,
the
The Fundamental Rule is that Qualifying Words precede Words they Qualify. ^f 421, Postpositions only an Apparent
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Vl'ii
Correlation of Sentences. 423, Subject ^[ 424, Examples of Construction. 425 426, ^[ Examples of the Correlation of Clauses by the Indefinite Form and the Gerund. ^[ 427, General Subjectlessness of Sentences.
Exception. of Sentence.
f
422,
^[
^[
428, Order of the 429,
^[
of Postpositions.
Direct and Indirect Objects of the Verb.
Final
Ellipsis,
Verb
.often
431, Inversion.
^[
Omitted. 432,
1[
*[[
Syntax
430,
Negatives mutually
434, Peculiarity of Japanese Negatives owing ^[ 433 Absence of Negative Pronouns, Adverbs, and Conjunctions. 435 436, Quotation generally Direct. ^[ 437, How to Avoid
Destructive to the ^[
Quotations within Interrogation. tion.
^[
442
^[
Peculiar Pleonastic Idiom.
Quotations,
439, Passives.
444,
^[
438,
440441, Absence of Personifica-
^[
Extreme Tendency to Synthesis
as
shown
in the
PAGE 260
Integration of Sentences
282.
(PRACTICAL PART, OR
READER).
^[
447.
SHORT PHASES IN CONSTANT USE ADDITIONAL USEFUL PHKASES EASY QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
1[
448.
PROVERBS
[[
449.
^[
445.
^[
446.
An
PAGE
?
6,
309.
310 including: i, The 4, Engaging a Teacher ;
3, A Request Meal Hours 7, An Enquiry
Exhibition
299.
307
FRAGMENTS OF CONVERSATION,
Salary
285
300306.
;
;
;
8,
;
Post 5,
;
315. 2,
What
Another Enquiry
;
Talking to a Father ; n, The Telegraph ; 12, Speaking Japanese Well ; 13, No Thoroughfare ; 14, Compliments on Meeting a Friend ; 15, A Message 16, Feeling Unwell
9,
Talking to a Child
;
10,
;
;
On Board Ship 18, A Way; 21, Compliments on 17,
;
Picnic First
;
19,
A
Meeting
Asking the 22, Taking Leave of a
Visitor ;
;
20,
TABLE OF CONTENTS. Friend
;
Thanks
23,
for Assistance
for the Mail
Fire
;
31,
;
A ^[
New
;
;
;
;
Asking the Way ; 35, The Way to the Toast 37, Keeping a Visitor Waiting 38,
34,
;
36,
A
;
;
on an Intimate Friend
;
39, Arriving at a
Meeting Dispersed 541, Shopping at Miyanoshita
4507. ANECDOTES, Thankful K?chibei
Right
;
*[[
453,
;
An
including
^
:
f
f 4589. Two CHAPTERS
*[
461 tion
^[
463.
^[
464.
^[
465
^[
474.
Dog ^[ 454, A Dream of Liquor ^[ f 456, Radishes f 457, An Eye on PAGE 344 365. ;
;
from tho " BoTAN-D6R5," a Novel by
2.
f
AKTICLK, entitled
LECTURES including: 462,
A
^[
461,
"WiiY?"
A
Talk
about
403.
404413.
...
Investiga-
PAGE 414427.
Point of Moral Culture
EXTRACT FROM A SERMON
428
433.
A SCENE
434
447.
448
452.
473.
IN
THE DIET
A WORD
ABOUT POETRY
ANGLO-JAPANESE
Vocabulary
Words *[
343.
f 451, Ages will Come
PAGE 366
A NEWSPAPER
;
40,
;
;
;
;
PAGE 316
True Economy
450,
Encho *y
Tea-house ...
452, If they Wait, their
Illiterate
455, The Pursuit of Fashion the Top of the Head
460.
Year Con;
;
British Legation in
24,
;
Japanese Language
Looking
;
An Earthquake 26, Hiring a Jinrikisha 27, Letters 28, Nearing Yokohama 29, A Christian Church 30, The Theatre 32, Early to Bed 33, Difficulty of the
gratulations; 25,
A
Received
IX
VOCABULARY
475.
of
over
Useful
1,700 ,
of all
the Japanese
Work INDEX OF SUBJECTS
^[
476.
^[
477. ADDITIONS AND CORRECTIONS
453-473.
Words occurring in this PACE 474 557. 559
567.
568569*
THEORETICAL PART.
HANDBOOK OF
COLLOQUIAL JAPANESE. CHAPTER
I.
Introductory Remarks.
"How
can I learn to speak Japanese ?" This question i. has been so often addressed to the present writer that he lias resolved to put his answer into a permanent shape.
He is persuaded that no language was ever learnt solely least of all a language like Japanese, from a grammar, whose structure and idioms are so alien from all that we accustomed
are
to
recommended only at
first,
in
in
Europe.
The
student
is
therefore
through the Theoretical Part order to obtain a general idea of the territory he
He
has to conquer.
examples as
to glance
can pick up by the way such of the
strike him,
seeking opportunities for
committing them to memory and using them to his servants and
He should then go on to the Practi" and attack the " Fragments of Conversation and "Anecdotes'" as soon as possible, however baffling it
his native teacher.
cal Part,
the
may seem
be confronted with such long sentences. Japanese consists chielly of long sentences, one cannot too early decide to face them. A little prac-
After
tice
and
all,
will
to
as
rob
then the
them of much of Theoretical
Part
their
Every now be consulted on
terror.
should
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS. difficult
in nl
should be read through carefully,
It
points.
have
caused
pages of the
few
a committal of a
shall
a
diligent study of the Practical Part
after a
at a time,
little
student to
the
latter to memory make some way in the
mastery of the language. [
The
2.
necessity for
insisted upon.
pernicious habit
sentence
is
It
literally
memorising cannot be too strongly means of escape from the
the sole
of thinking in English, translating every from a whispered English original, and
therefore
beginning
Japanese
instead
and
ending by speaking English It is not only Japanese Japanese. that the \vords and idioms of Japanese differ from our English words and idioms, but that the same set of circumstances does not always draw from Japanese speakers remarks
similar
Kuropean quite the instance.
remark
of
an
probably say,
To
as ours.
wishes
Englishman
to a friend
about the
"I hope your
would
it
father
make
to
a
in
polite
he
faiher,
better
is
from
take a very simple
sick
latter's
draw
do not run
thoughts
Japanese
speakers.
same channels If
which
those
to
will
In
to-day."
French, (jerman, Italian, etc., the phrase would be pretty nrarlv the same. In each of these languages the same kimllv hope would be expressed.
The phrase must run
thus
Olollsan
more (i
The does
do
zva,
llfnnmi'(ili{c-j.
recommended by
unromanised languages generally, has established itself in almost universal local use by reason ot its simplicity. Not a few authors have, it is true, deviated on minor points, either from inadvertence or of hitherto
t
order to satisfy their individual notions of phonetic perfection. Probably no language admits of being written phonetically with absolute precision and the present writer, for one, gladly sacrifices some minute in
;
personal preferences for the sake of what a case,
is
far
more important
in
such
unity of usage.
12.
The vowels
are
always short,
are
sounded unless
as in Spanish
marked with
and
the
Italian,
sign
of
but
long
It is impossible to express the values of the vowels in but, speaking apJapanese correctly English
quantity.
;
proximately,
we may say
that
LONG AND SHORT VOWELS. "
a resembles the# in c
,,
,,
t
,,
,,
o
/
,
,,
,,
d
,,
,,
,
,
13.
from
,
,, ,,
"machine,"
o
'
(not
,,
" bush."
,,
"bone,"
,
,
but
is
shorter.
is
shorter.
"
for
,,
oo
,
but
father,"
" men." "
o
,
, ,
u
K
6-
13
'
Ion
i
but
").
is
purer
a.
o.
" food.
Very great care must betaken to distinguish the short for there are many words totally the lung vowels ;
distinct in
meaning, but
concerned, merely " a mud
differing, so far as
in the quantity
godown
(tozd,
;"*
dozo,
"here;'"
sato,
ioru,
" a village " to take
tsuji,
" a cross-road
kdkd,
;
zulsu, "[one, etc.] at a time ;"
" filial
piety.
tdru,
"sugar." " to
tsuji,
" an
znlsu,
"a
said,
;"
;"
is
:
"please."
"
koko,
pronunciation
of their vowels, thus
pass through." "
interpreter.
headache."
The only long vowels of common occurrence are o and u. Long a hardly occurs, excepting in the interjections a ! ma ! na ! and sa ! and in the words obasan, "an old lad}'," " " grandmamma, and okkasan (but also okkasan}, "mamma/'' c hardly occurs, excepting in the interjection nc. Long does not occur, its place being taken by double u, as in yoroshii, "good, '"as it is considered that careful speakers
Long i
sound the two
z"s
separately.
When
preceded by another vowel or by n, the vowels e, i, and o are pronounced^, yi, and wo respectively. Thus tie, " above ;" kon-in, "marriage;" and shio, "salt," are pronounced (and by some transliterators written) uye, konyin, 14.
shrwo. * "
It
Godown "
is
Far-Eastern English for a store-house or warehouse. " a warehouse/' ;/;>-,
comes from the Malay word gado
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
14
Tf
15.
/and u
Tokyo
after/",
sh,
s,
and
watakushi,
I,
"much," "many," '
'
there
gozaimasu,
hto.*
, ,
ivatakshi.
laxan.
,,
gomimas.
"
below,
u
,,
, ,
is silent,
sh/a
, ,
" the moon,
Initial
-
" is,
' '
shila, tsuki,
mouths
as
"
' '
lakusan,
is,
pronounced
"person/'
hi/o,
6.
k,
//,
"t\vo,"
fiilatsu,
1
or nearly so in the
are often inaudible,
of natives of
and the following
.
tski.
,,
m
doubled
in the
pronunciation of the four words
pronounced mma.
urna,
"ahorse,"
umai,
"nice," " to be born," " a
umareiu, ume, 17.
plum-tree,"
The
,,
muiai.
,,
mmareru.
,,
mine.
quiescent vowels are distinguished in this work by
the sign of short quantity, as
Into,
shila, iakusan,
tuna.
But
should be noted that the Japanese themselves are not conscious of failing to pronounce the i's and 's in question, it
and
that these letters often recover their proper power for the sake of clearness or emphasis. They count in prosody, and are always sounded even in ordinary conversation by the natives of many provinces. That is why they are allowed to
remain in the
transliteration,
most persons writing them
without any diacritical mark. 1
8.
The vowel
pronounced leishi,
*
The h
//,
when
following sh or /,
by the Tokyo people, thus " a for leishu, husband."
as i
here has the sound of
German
ch in
:
is
often mis-
15 arc also apt to mispronounce^/* as
They
[
19.
verv
lie
" snow
ioryuAi,
///',
careful
"rice-beer,'
take,
" a bamboo
yumc,
"a dream;"
20.
The diphthongs
and
;"
remark, each vowel retaining
:
from
c
"a
waterfall.
yumi,
"a
bow."
d,
oi,
"
ui,
own proper
its
/.
"before."
"front,"
an,
final
confound-
to their
saki,
ao,
ai,
thus
taki,
,, ,,
ae,
final
owing
unintelligible
sake,
i,
this is distinctly vulgar.
discriminate
to
Englishmen arc often ing such words as
but
;"
no
call for
sound, as in
of mispronouncing
Englishmen and Germans must beware " eiderdown or German in ei as
" klein."
ci being
Spanish or
Italian.
'
'
simply e+t, the second syllable kirei, "pretty," sounds nearly like the " " the German " Reh," not at all like word or English ray "rye." Be equally careful not to give to an (a-}- it) the peculiarly English sound of "awe;" but pronounce, for
Japanese
of such a word as
"to buy," very nearly like English "cow." In the case of verbs, however, ending in an, such as kau,
instance, kau, "
"to buy is
;
morau, "to receixe;"
sfiitagau,
"to
follow,"
optional to pronounce the letter au like a long
more
this is
characteristic of western Japanese than of
it
But
o.
Tokyo
usage. 21.
The
vulgar in
Tokyo
mai, instead of mae,
instead of koe,
long
,
' '
say ai for ae, and oi for oe
" before "
voice.
They
as 'narane for naranai,
bad
as the
22.
It is
;"
"
koi (which means
;
thus
"love"),
also often contract ai into a it
won't do."
But
this is as
dropping of the letter h by cockneys.
usual to write iu (rather thanj/S) in the case of the
verb meaning N. B. This ittf, itta, etc.,
( '
is
with
to say.
"
a concession to etymology, the other tenses^ being initial
i.
1
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
6
usual to write ou rather than d in the case of verbs
It is
like oniou, .V.fi.
"to think
This
is
done
"
sorou,
;"
to
be in order."
order to show the original and theoretical
in
conformity of these verbs to the general rule whereby the present tense [must always end in it. ^[
23.
The consonants
are
pronounced approximately
English, subject to the following remarks
as in
:
ihe English labio-dental thai is to means of the lips alone, not, as our/" is, foimed by say, the teeth on the lower lip. upper by placing /'is a true labial, not
:
it is
G it is
of a
never has the sound of/. hard, like the
pronounced word it has the sound of English ng
Thus Kiga,
the
in
"slangy."
name
of a place near MiyanoshTta, rhymes "singer." (Not with "finger," where
almost exactly with the ng does double duty,
first
then the sound of g alone. in
At the beginning of a word " in In the middle give."
g
to render the
sound of ng, and
This double sound
Japanese by the combination
ng,
is
represented
as kin-gin,
"gold and
Foreigners constantly err in pronounced kin-ghui). pronouncing such words as Kiga like Kinner or else Kigger,
silver,"
instead of uttering the nasal
"
Bingham," .V. fi.
In
sound of "slangy," "singer,"
etc.
western Japan,
g
retains
hard pronunciation in
its
all
situations.
//is pronounced as in English, except before the vowel
i,
when it assumes nearly the sound of the German ch in ich. The syllable /// ha, '"moreover, a tendency to pass into ski and even into simple
sh,
in
especially
the
mouths of the
"
vulgar of Tokyo, hige,
"beard,"
Careful Japanese fully) to
\vho pronounce, as
shige,
speakers
avoid this error.
and
for instance,
Kilo,
attempt
"person," (not
the
word
as
shlo.
always success-
CONSONANTS.
1
7
N
final is pronounced half-way between a true ?i and the French nasal n. When (as happens chiefly in Chinese compounds) a syllable ending in n is followed by a or u in
the next syllable, the n sounds very nearly like English ng,
and a
distinct hiatus
made
is
"the
Thus gen-an
before the vowel.
draft of a
document," quite diffrom ge-nan, which may equally well be written genan, man-servant." When the vowel next to n final is e, t, or
(almost geng an), ferent
"a o,
a different
R or
the
is
method very as
gargled
pronounce
almost as
it
sound heard
W
English
^[ 14).
r's,
and
if
it
is
never rolled
Some
were a dental
speakers especially
d,
/.
always sharp as in
6* is
24.
resorted to (see
French and German.
in
before the vowel
or z
is
softest of
in
"
(pronounced
strong a tendency to
"
past," never
assuming the
soft
misery." exactly
become
as
in
English)
shows
obsolete after k and g,
so
not
only in Tokyo, but in most parts of the country excepting the
that
west,
it
is
optional
to
write,
for
instance,
kwa-
"cake;" Gwaimusho or Gaimusho, "the Even between two vowels, as in omoForeign Office." "I do not think;" kama(iv}anai, "it does not (w)andi, or
ski
kashi,
matter,"
work
many
the
w
natives of
Tokyo drop
has been retained in
all
it.
In
the
such cases,
present order
in
conform
to the usage of the dictionaries. Frenchmen, and other Continentals are apt to sound a v instead of a w. This bad habit should be carefully guarded to
Germans,
against.
Y
is always a consonant. Thus the syllable mya in myaku, "the pulse," is pronounced as one syllable, like mia in the English word "amiable.'' Care must be taken
I
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER- CHANGES.
8
not to confound the monosyllable mya with the dissyllable " a capital city." miya in such words as miyako (mi-ya-ko], Z, when preceding the vowel */, has the sound of dz,
and as
is
accordingly
midzu,
written
order
in
write z in
to
conform
the
to
(Conf. second foot-note to
dictionaries.
transl iterators,
by many
We
somewhat against our personal
rather than dz,
and merely
so
"water."
for mizu,
Double] consonants must, as distinguished from single ones, thus
preference,
usage
of the
21.)
in Italian,
If 25.
"a
p.
work,
this
be sharply
:
ichi,
hole;" " one "
itchi (for ichi-chi],
"such." " union."
oto,
"a sound;"
otto,
"a husband."
ana,
anna,
;
N. B.
Though
plenty of consonants arc written double in English,
few are pronounced
so.
Such words, however,
as " boo&fceeping,"
"
uweighbourly," mij.rent, will serve to exemplify the peculiar insistance on the consonantal sound that is here spoken of.
Where, natives
which
of
is
often
Tokyo
for
"all."
,,
mina, tokuri,
N. B. ch(tch},
26. -or
" too much."
,,
ft,
which seems is
the
consonant
amari,
minna,
desire for emphasis,
as double a
:
tokkuri,
This peculiarity,
liable to ensue,
is
pronounce
properly single, thus
ammari,
T
no confusion
however,
"a to
bottle."
have originated in
a
slightly vulgar.
Only the following consonants are n, p, y, s/i(ssh\ and ts (tts).
liable to reduplication
:
m,
All Japanese words theoretically end either in a vowel the consonant n. But the fact of the occasional
in
quiescence of
i
and
produces the impression that there
are words ending in other consonants.
Thus, the^polite
ACCENT.
masu
termination
sounds
like mas,
in
(e.g.
1
"there
an'masu, the
in
excepting
careful or old-fashioned speakers.
clipping of final vowels to be
9
mostly
is")
mouths of unusually In no other case is the
recommended.
ACCENT.
Generally speaking, the Japanese pronunciation both 27. of vowels and of consonants is less broad and heavy than
most European languages, and
that current
in
in English.
Particularly noticeable
and
ch, j, sh,
is
are
minced.
is
the
manner
especially in
which
Tones, such as those of the
There is little or no tonic Chinese, are entirely absent. accent, and only a very slight rhetorical accent; that is to say that all the syllables of a word and all the words of a" sentence are pronounced equally, or nearly so. Students
must beware of importing into Japanese the strong and constantly recurring stress by which, in English and in most European languages, one syllable in every polysyllabic word, and the chief words in every sentence, are singled out for special notice.
Thus,
to
to
Hakone,
Miyanoshiia, the i of Miyanoshita,
(excepting
Ha-ko-ne,
without
quote the names of places
Japan, you must articulate Ashinoyu, with every syllable equal
every traveller in
familiar
Mi-ya-no-shta,
emphasis.
when they occasionally,
which
A-shi-no-yn,
Europeans
quiesces), all
excruciate
short
thus
and
Japanese
say Hakone, Miyanoshta, and Ashinoyu.
among
:
all
ears
Only
the lower classes, does the desire for
exceptional emphasis cause a word or syllable to be accented in a
peculiarly declamatory manner, which
difficulty
seems
to
in
imitating.
The
strength
Europeans
of the
entire
find
body
be concentrated on the production, on the labori-
ous squeezing out, of the word
in question.
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
2O yV.
The statement made
B*
the above paragraph concerning intended rather for purposes of There is a slight of scientific accuracy. in
the absence of accent in Japanese practical
than
instruction
is
But so extremely slight is it that never been marked in any dictionary whether native or foreign, tonic accent in Japanese.
no influence on prosody,
it
it
has has
from province to province, and inhabitants of the same province contradict, not only each other, but themselves in their usage and in the explanations which they give
Most
it.
concerning
it
varies
the
of
Tokyo people
difference of stress such pairs of
"rain;"
dme, hashi,
kdki
chopsticks
;
ante,
"a kind
hash],
" a bridge."
ki'tmo,
take,
" a
koto,
mountain-peak ;"
but in degree
of sweetmeat.''
kwno,
" a cloud."
take,
"a bamboo."
words may be compared
difference between sucli
a faint
"a persimmon." "a thing."
kakl,
" a sort of harp ;" "a spider;"
distinguish by
as
"
"
"an oyster;"
t
koto,
The
words
not in kind,
made by
with that
"morning" and "mourning," the substantive "an advocate,"
careful English speakers between or between the verb " to advocate" and
the verb "to elaborate"
and the ad-
"
" elaborate," or again between two such phrases as re-covering an old umbrella " and " recovering a stolen one." The interest of the jective
question
rather for the theoretical
is
The tendency Frenchmen,
is
of
than for the practical
Englishmen, and indeed of
always
to
New-comers cannot do
all
accentuate Japanese for the
better, at least
endeavour not to accentuate
it
student.
Europeans excepting
much
too
strongly.
few years, than
first
at all.
LETTER-CHANGES.
T
28.
Nigori,
lit.
"muddling,"
is
the
name
given
Japanese to the substitution of sonant consonants N. B. surd
In contradistinction to the sonant letters
letters
(/,
k, s,
etc.)
are said to be ntmi,
categories together are termed sei-daku by sei being the
i.e.
(d, g,
by the
for surds. z,
"clear."
etc.),
the native grammarians,
Chinese word for "clear," and dakn for "muddled."
The consonants
affected
the
The two
change as follows
:
THE
21
NIGORt.
Sonants.
Surds.
ch\ sh]
f\
into
/.*
(anciently
probably/)
/
d.
,,
The broad law governing the initial surd (ch,
dependent word
sh,
f,
the use of the nigori
h,
k,
s,
noun
especially of a
corresponding sonant is used as the second
(j,
b,
z,
g,
or
is,
/)
when
in-
into the
changes
or d]
that
is
of an
the
word
The law of a compound. not native words only, but likewise those borrowed
affects,
from the
From
Cliine.sc.
Thus
:
"a
"cookery," and chaya,
ryori,
formed
member
ryori-jaya,
From sh/wa, "an
"an
island,"
^ima, "various islands." " a From and
yam,
roof,"
yane-Toune,
"a
tea-house,"
is
eating-house." repeated,
fune,
is
formed shima-
" a vessel,"
is
formed
house-boat."
* In western Japan, where the rules and analogies of the ancient language have been more faithfully preserve,! than in the present capital, the
"Fusiyama"
Fuji,
is pronounced like English /, and the nigori French j\ thus ///', "the wistaria" (hard), but
nigori of ch
of sh like the softer
delicate distinction,
(soft).
The Tokyo pronunciation
and has English / (but just a
ignores" this
trifle softer) for
both
alike.
f s
is
In the western provinces (following ancient usage), the nigori of while the nigori of Is is dz; thus mizit, "not seeing," but z,
midzu,
"
water."
In
Tokyo
being alike pronounced as
dz.
these
two^sounds are confounded, both
(Jonf. the
end of
*
24,
page
18.
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
22
"
From From
and hachi, "
fire,"
hi,
"
formed
is
the "indefinite forms" of the
wear," and "kaeru,
"
to
change,"
"a change of clothes." From kaku, "an angle," and
hi-Taachi,
sato,
is
kiru,
"to
formed
fti-gae,
is
formed
"sugar,"
loaf-sugar.
"moon," "month," and
tstiki,
verbs
"
' '
kaku-zato,
From
a pot,"
a brazier."
sue,
"end,"
is
formed tsuki-zue, " the end of the month." From kwan, a Chinese word signifying a "jar" or "gallipot," but not used alone in Japanese,* and
"to pack," formed kwan-zume, "tinned (provisions)," "canned things." the indefinite form of the verb teumeru,
is
From
"a
orai,
the
verb
thoroughfare," and the indefinite form of
fomeru,
orat'dffme,
"no
"to stop"
(trans.),
is
formed
thoroughfare."
A'. B. Nigori'zA. syllables are not limited to compounds. ICazc, wind ;" abura, " oil," and numerous others offer examples of the occurrence of the uigori in the middle of a simple word. The nigori
"
found
many simple \\oras in modern then almost always be traced to the action of " phonetic decay. Thus de, by," is from Classical nite ; dore ? " wlu'ch ?" is from Classical i&(z}ure ; and so on. Many other words with initial uigori come from the Chinese, such as doze, " a godown ;" " go, august ;" zasliiki, a room," etc. is
also
at
Colloquial, but
it
the beginning of
may
'
Tf
A
29.
rider to the
above law
that/* and h in Chinese This d, but into/.
is
compounds sometimes change, not into is
called the han-nigori,
take
somewhat high-flown
or
"half-muddling."
Thus,
to
instances,
*
Sir Ernest Satow suggests that this word fcvan, though fitted by Japanese ingenuity with a suitable Chinese ideograph (j|g), may, after " can all, Ix; nothing but the English word itself, whose meaning it '
serves to convey.
THE NIGORL
From
"to accord," and
/tin,
" a
/'ujH-p'N,
From .V.
"wind," we
f?V,
have
wind."
" a sign
in the
hcv/,
"change," we have
heavens."
he monosyllables jun and/?? are scarcely ever used alone in
'1
./?.
fair
"heaven," and
ten,
tern-pen,
Japanese
2$
For the change of n
in the senses here given.
to
m
in jun
and
ten, see ^[ 32.
In
30.
some words of native
origin, the
T6ky5
people,
led
by the same love of reduplication which makes them say minna for mina, "all;" lokkuri for tokuri, "a bottle," etc. (see
the
turn
25),
^f
doubled, into
to hh, viz.
approach
pp
which could not well be
letter h,
what commends ;
thus
itself to
them
as the nearest
:
yappari, for yahari, "also." yoppodo,
,,
yohodo,
"a
lot,"
"very."
Perhaps might be more correct to view this phenomenon as a relic of the old pronunciation of // as p. Conf. ^[ 28, top of p. 21, small type in middle of column. .\'.
/>.
it
The law
31.
regulating the use of the nigori
is
by no means
and sometimes
an absolute
the varying one, euphony of whether the individuals in each case caprice deciding or shall shall not be Thus made. o, change "great," and saka,
"a
town
in
hill,"
compounded to form the name of a large may be pronounced either Osaka
Central Japan,
or Osaka (never Osdrkur, as
F
and
if
the
consonant.
It
is
Englishmen are apt
to say).
however, always change either into b or into/, first member of the compound ends in a nasal
h,
Thus
it
would be inadmissable
considered harsh to have
one word. the vigor-fed
For instance, letter
z,
it
as
will,
to
many mgori'ed
letters in
"wind," already has when combined with kami,
kaze,
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
24
"above," make kaza-kami, "windward/' not kcaLa-%ami, which would sound awkward and thick. Observe, too,
*[f
that
no nigoriQ&
32.
As shown by the examples of/#m-/
m
to
changes
letter is
ever doubled.
^tetOfmon-gdku"
"astrology/'
"heaven;" mon, "markings and
corruptly
N
"science."
gaktij
To
before a labial.
and
"astronomy;" from
m
sometimes
is
shamberi
as
"
yon-jii for
chattering;
make up
33.
" a
certain
change which affects the native Japanese words of one
syllables.
to a,
a
is
In this class of
words, e
word
as
when
the
compound,* thus
From
is
used
radish."
con-
vowels
in
syllable
and two
often
changes
final
the
initial
final
first
member
of a
:
"wind," and " windward."
kazQ,
They
should be retained,
it
Less important than the nigori affecting
sonants,
shaberi, "
forty.
saying, for instance, daiko instead of daikon, ^f
inserted
for
' '
yo-ju (better shi-ju),
by dropping w where
for this
:
/en,
or letters" (not used alone);
or
by careless speakers,
* '
n
leia\-pcn,
give another instance
"above,"
kami,
we
have
kaza.-kami,
From
"rice-beer," and ya,
sake,
" sako.-ya,
From
/e,
" the hand," and molsu, ' '
tdjnolsu,
From
ue,
"a
house," we have
a grog-shop."
to keep.
to
hold,"
we have
"
"top," and the_indefinite form of kiru, "to " to wear/' we have uwa.-gi} "an over-coat."
put on," *
Strictly speaking, it is a which is weakened Jin to c, a study of the older language showing that the formsjn'a'are almost certainly the
original ones.
We
state the rule as in the text
practical convenience.
simply for the sake of
MINOR LETTER-CHANGES.
member
A> an irregular
mentioned s/iira for " in such
of
compounds
while,"
"a
shira.-giku,
the
same
as
white chrysanthemum."
santhemum/') " white hair."
The language
(Kiku=
((9a here stands
shirQi-ga,
may be
class
of the adjective shiroi,
the stem
s/iiro,
25
for
/C'c',
lt
chry-
" hair."
no other instance of so anoma-
offers
lous a change.)
Japanese consonants do not admit of being
the
All
34.
sounded
before
the
all
five
occurs before the vowel
S
instead.
T
is
is
u,
Japanese
F
vowels.
only
the other four vowels taking h
replaced by sa, and z by/, before the vowel a ad d by j, before the vowel /'; ch,
replaced by
i.
/
W
replaced by Is, and d by z, before the vowel u. occurs only before the vowel a; y only before the vowels
is
a,
o,
and
The
u.
orthography adopted the postpositions
sole in
wo ^nd
exceptions,
this ye.
work,
are
to
according those
Compare, however,
offered ^[
the
by
14.
The phenomena mentioned in this paragraph seem to be of modern growth, though they can be traced back some three centuries. The archaic form of the language probably N. B.
comparatively
possessed/ (or rather/),
To
the
practical
interesting only verbs.
He
cl sty.
It
is
in
s,
and
tt
but no
b, h, s/i,j, ch, is,
or
z.
student the peculiarity above noted is so far as it affects the conjugation of
therefore referred to
Chapter VIII, ^f 235 may, however, be worth while to instance in passing the strange alterations introduced into borrowed European words by this inability of the Japanese to
pronounce their
certain
further
sonants
consonants before certain
inability
vowels, by pronounce combinations of conconsonant except ;/, and by the
to
or any final absence from their language of some of the commonest
PRONUNCIATION AND LETTER-CHANGES.
26
sounds,
European
such
as
morphoses as the following chifusu,
man "
from
pronunciation
typhus."
,,
Igirisu,
,,
kame,
,,
from the
!" to
kara, from "collar."
them.)
"a
Dutch
kopt
used
but
to
glass."
rampu, from "lamp." 5 '
styled, because their masters constant-
"come here
cup,"
signify
"English." " come here.
" Castilla.
so called, because (Sponge-cake introduced by the Spaniards.)
"a
" fork."
from " is
koppu,
(Dogs of European race are so ly call out
Hence such meta-
z>.
kasuteira,
of
garasu, from "glass." hoko,
and
:
Ger-
the
/
ramune, shabon,
"lemonade."
,,
"soap," from Spanish
jabon.
from "shirt."
shaisu,
wanishi,
,,
"varnish."
There are also some quite anomalous cases, such as " penki, from paint," where we should naturally have expected peinlo.
N. B. Two or three of the above examples may serve incidentally show the lingering trace of early intercourse with the Dutch and Spaniards. At the present day, English is drawn on far more extensively
to
than
all
35-
other foreign tongues together.
certain
Finally
euphony and ip-pun
"ten
for
ichi
vessels."
contractions
are
the desire for speedy
brought
elocution.
fun, "one minute;" For these the student
jis-so, is
about
by
Such are for jii
so,
to
the
referred
Chapter on Numerals, ^f 153, as it is in the case of the numerals that these contractions most frequently occur, and that it is most necessary to commit them to memory.
CHAPTER
III.
Noun. NUMBER AND GENDER. 36.
The noun
is
indeclinable,
left
gender being
case relations being,
words, which are,
distinctions of
be gathered from
to
as
in
"
number and
context,
and
indicated by separate
English,
however,
the
postpositions," not
preposi-
Thus
tions.
Uma horse
lit.
ni in
noru ride
mean, according to circumstances, to ride on one or on several horses, on one mare or on several
may horse in a res.
lit.
may
mean
several
may
Hilo kimasJnla ga person (nominative particle) has- come either
people
designate
that
one person has
have
come.
one
mountain
Similarly
or
come, or that word yama
the
many
mountains,
being properly rather a kind of collective noun, German " das Gebirg." 37.
In the extremely rare cases in to
which
it
is
mention the sex of an animal,
indispensable be done by the use of the prefixes
it
like the
absolutely this
can
"male," and me, the ''female," compound being sometimes resulting Thus slightly modified by euphony. o,
:
bovine animal."
ushi,
"any
o-ushi,
me-ushi,
" a bull," "an ox." " a cow."
lima,
"any equine animal."
THE NOUN.
28
' '
omma,
a horse.
"a "a "a
memma, tori,
ondori,
(l
mendori,
"
marc."
"a
bird,"
fowl."
cock."
a hen."
The words otoko, "man," and osu, "male;" onna, "woman," and mesu, "female," subserve the same purpose, thus
:
" a child ;"
ko,
otoko no ko, man 's child
" a boy
"
onna no
:
n-oinan
"a
ko,
girl."
cliild
's
osu .i) inu, inu no osu,
.'
mesu no i"
Such a phrase
Osu desu Male
as
ka,
mesu
?
female
is
inu,
inu no mesu,
may mean "Is
it
or a
"Is
goose?"
desu
?
a horse it
kaP
/
a
or
a
"Is it a (female?"
\
"
mare?"
he or a she-ass?"
Is
male or a
it
a
gander
etc., etc., ac-
The words osu and mesu are cording to circumstances. never applied to human beings, whereas the words otoko and onna are applied indifferently to human beings and to other living creatures.
U
38.
Jn a very
of relationship,
few cases,
chiefly
the sexes are
the
names
of the degrees
distinguished by the use of
different words, thus: chichi,
"father
" ;
haha,
' '
mother.
"
olollsan,
"papa;"
okkasan,
"mamma."
ojiisan,
"grandpapa,"
obasan,
"grandmamma,"
"an
old gentleman ;"
oji,
"uncle;"'
"an oba,
old lady.'
"aunt."
CKXDER AND NUMBER. " elder brother ;" " brother younger
am, 0/0/0,
39.
What we
thus
ane, "
"
elder sister.
younger
singular number of the word liilotsu
sister."
is
occasionally
or
ichi,
"one box."
KtioisU)
' '
ichi-ncn,
The
idea of plurality,
on e year.
"
or variety
universality,
casionally indicated by doubling the word, thus ho-bo,
"everywhere;" from
iro-iro,
"all sorts;'
"a
from
oc-
ho,
"aside." " a sort" (properly
colour").
"many
fokorv-dokoro,
from
country."
" a place."
tokoro,
As exemplified
"a
"here and there:"
places,"
these
in
the second
words,
member
of
when
it
such compounds almost always takes the nigori, begins with a consonant capable of so doing.
Another method of expressing
tinating certain particles,
nounced
is
:
iro,
knni-gunt, "various countries;" from kunf,
41.
"one,"
:
hako
40.
"
imolo,
;
2-nakd\ (the)
Yama-da,
" mountain
rice-field,"
Men's personal names, answering to our Christian names, are also nearly always compounds. Unfortunately few of these personal names can be translated, founded, as etc.
they are, on allusions to texts in the Chinese Classics, to feudal functions now obsolete, to cyclical signs, and to other recondite matters. *
Such names as Ta-ro, " big male,"
In previous editions the word yane, " roof," was cited in this context
as having been derived fromjj/tf, the original " a mansion we also find in
word
for "
house
"
(which
" a shoemaker's kutsu-ya, |shop," " and the ridge of a roof." This etc.), mtme, breast," hence etymology, borrowed from the Japanese grammarians, seems disproved by the form of the parallel term in Luchuan, ya mi wi, which corres" ponds, letter for letter, to Japanese ya no tie, lit. top of house," whence
yashiki, " the
we may suppose yane
may
serve to
to
;"
have resulted by contraction. This instance is the basis on which Japanese-
show how uncertain
derivations often rest, in the absence of a tribe of related tongues to serve .
as a sufficiently broad standard of comparison.
Native philologists
ot
even such great men as Motoori and Hirata too often " inner consciousness " permittel themselves to be guided by their alone, like our own Western philologists of former centuries. the old school
ABSTRACT NOUNS.
" eldest son
i.e.,
"
Ji-ro>
;
"third son,"
(for Sctn-ro),
"second
(lit.
next) son
;
Saburo
etc., are sufficiently clear.
For women's personal names, see
N. B.
37 "
^[
418.
more than one character are com"a chawan, tea-cup," from cha "tea," and
All Chinese words of
pounds, e.g. " a bowl " wan, ; master of a junk," to
(nigorizd.
and
"east," 51.
and
Mikado, into
"a
from
sen,
" the
properly
"junk," "vessel," and from
Tokyo
"chief;"
"head,"'
do),
boatman/'
to to,
kyd, "capital city," etc., etc.
As shown
enter
)
sendo,
in the foregoing
"Emperor,"
the
formation
actual
however, they are
to
felt
examples of
honorific
be
"road," sometimes
michi,
prefixes
of words.
distinct
entities,
Generally, and are
therefore written separately, as o cha,
lit.
go moltomo,
lit.
" honourable "
tea,"
augustly right,"
i.e.,
"tea."
i.e.,
"you
are
quite right." o
mi ' '
ashi,
"honourable
lit.
august
feet,"
i.e.,
"
your
feet.
For more detailed information concerning the
honorifics,
which form so important and all-pervading an element of Japanese speech, see Chapter XI. VARIOUS KINDS OF NOUNS. Abstract nouns, expressing degree as well as quality, often derived from adjective stems by agglutinating the syllable sa, thus 52
-
are
:
atsusa,
"heat,"
"the "
degree of heat. "
omoshirosa, fun," "the "interest," degree of fun."
"
sa?nusa,
cold,"
" the
degree of cold."
" shirosa,
whiteness,
degree of whiteness."
" the
THE NOUN.
38
A
hence sometimes the and the even quality object possessing the may be denoted by the termination mi agglutinat-
tinge or soupcon of a quality,
actual
itself,
quality,
ed to an adjective stem, thus (f
akami,
:
a tinge of red.
"
"(a certain amount of) fun." tinge of white," "the white of an egg."
07/ioshiromi,
"a
shiromi,
Amami ga (n m }
usu\ "
'
ozri?nasn
'
Tt isn
1
I
quite Sweet enou S h
" -
i*.
These nouns
^[ 53.
in sa
and mi must be distinguished from means of an adjective or verb
the periphrasis formed by
and the word
koto,
"(an
"a
abstract) thing,"
fact,"
"an
"a state," as
act,"
"
atsui koto,
" " the fact of being hot.
heat,"
"the
fact
that
something
is
"whiteness," "the
fact
that
something
is
kitanai kotot "dirtiness," dirty."
shir oi koto t
white." machigatta
koto,
mistook
ming
lit.
sum
shimpo
("a mistake," "the (one has "
koto,
wo
on
"
(the
noun)
;
some
also " to
(the verb).
shiranai koto, \
JitntlHcsa (accus. particle)
lit.
"
progress
f
progress mates tiling \ progress
lit.
fact that a mistake."
made
ignores thing
i
n p- rat itude
"
)
In speaking of the blade of a fine sword, one might say Sono kissaki no surudoi kotol Its
point
's
sJiurp
state,
"
So sharp is its point, fine its edge, that annealing's beautiful state, so hito-me mite mo sugu samusa 'the merest glance at it " onc-eijc seeing even, at-once coldness gives you a shiver. wo oloeru kurai da. sono
yaki
no
umwashii
its
(a ecus.)
feel
amount
is.
koto,
:
KOTO AND MONO.
These periphrases thus
Parallel
nouns
the
to
deki-mono, coming-out thing
koto
denotes
a bad place>
\
"a. white tiling."
shojiki-mono,
"an
concrete
are
an abscess.
"
thing."
honest fellow." koto,
"an
abstract thing,"
would
avoid
constant
misapprehension.
Thus cal
onoji mono means "the same thing," "the article," whereas onoji koto means "the same
identisort
of
the quality, pattern, etc., being the same, but the
thing,"
actual article a different one.
sentence, see
Mono whose
and
material thing," must be clearly kept in mind,
student
the
koto,
"a
< <
shir oi mono,
This distinction between
if
in
" !
)
"a smelly
"a
!
:
kusaimono,
mono,
" it is
nouns
abstract
While
hot
what a horrid smell
!
material thing or person, thus
ht.
used exclamatorily,
thing of the mind," act," mono almost always denotes a tangible >
"an
fact,"
!
" Oh
!
mono.
in
"Oh how
!
Kusai koto
"a
are often
koto
:
Alsui koto
54.
in
39
no,
origin
^f
or is
at the
end of a
wa iu mono no, has a very curious use, unknown, but which may most easily be
to
parsed by assuming
"whereas
For mono wo
287.
no
to
stand for nagara,
"while/"
:"
ko iu motio Rikutsu de iva Theory by indeed, tJnis say tltiny
"That
is
all
very fine
wa yohodo in jissai theory, but it is very ivhercas, practice as-for, hard in practice/' muzukashii. no,
difficult (is).
mighty
THE NOUN.
40
Baka da
wa
to
mono\
iu
"
Fool as he is, he is Fool is that indeed say thing sukoshi no zlcapable of making himno, yd useful in >s minor business little ii-hiic, ui[self matters." ma ni aimasu. wa \
)
indeed, space to conforms.
T
55.
The names
ya, "house/' as
of shops are denoted by the termination :
" a book-store
hon-ya,
;"
" a butcher's shop niku-ya, ' '
pan-ya,
a bakery,
;"
"
from
/ion,
"a book."
from
niku,
"flesh." ' '
from pan,
bread.
"
"
Kame-ya, lit. "tortoise house (or, as we might say, " At the Sign of the Tortoise"), the name of a grocery in Tokyo well-known to foreign residents. to
the general Japanese habit of naming persons
after places,
such words as the above come to denote, not
Owing
"book-store," the "butcher's shop," and the "bakery," but by extension the "bookseller," the "butSometimes indeed cher," and the "baker" themselves.
only the
the as
person
only,
and not the
kuruma-ya, shimbun-ya,
T
56.
"
thus designated,
is
place,
:
Names
of trees
tree," or in
its
' '
a jinriki'sha-man
"a newspaper man."
and
plants
nigon'ed form
hagi,
"the lespedeza.
mugi,
"wheat,
ki,
"the eulalia"
(a
tall grass).
"the
camellia-
tree."
the
crypto-
yanagi,
mena/
Names
in
:
kind of tsubaki,
' '
terminate
often
gi, thus
susuki,
"bar-
ley." sugi,
"
of rivers
gaiua), "river;"
"the
willow-
tree."
end
in
names of
kawa (generally mgori'ed
stretches of sea in
to
nada\ those
HAZU, TOKI.
AIDA,
of islands
Okawa,
shima (often nigori'e.^ or san (za/i), thus
in
mountains
in
yama
"Great River." "the River
lit.
to
after
the
separating
Kyushu and "Small
lit.
The nouns
57. ioki,
matical
Is-
Bandai.
named
discoverer,
" Mount
"Mount
"
hazu,
"
necessity;"
"place," often assume
tokoro,
functions
their
Bandai-san,
"interval;"
aida,
"time; and
off
"the " ;
Asama-yama, " Asama.
name common
land," a
of
Ogasawara.
ShTkoku. Kojima,
islands
Bonin Islands
sea near the province of
of
several
Ogasawara-jim a,
Bungo-nada, the stretch of
islands
those
;
the Japanese coast.
Sumida-gawa, Sumida."
Bungo,
to jima)
:
to
perplexing
the
beginner.
gramAida
" while," hazu to correspond to our conjunction our verbs "ought" or "should," toki to our conjunction
comes
to
"when," thus So
suru
Ho
do
Mo
:
" While interval.
kuru
hazu
Already conies necessity
Areba, If-tJicre-ivere,
hazu
da
ing so." " He
da. is.
by
kikti jiki ni immediately hear
ga,
mada
so
necessity is althowjli, still koto ivo kikimasen.
iti
such
we were
ought
to
do-
be here
this time."
"
If anything of that kind had I happened, should have heard of it.
fact (acats.) (J)Jiear not.
B.
Observe the suppressed negative which hazu almost always Observe, too, that hazu is often strengthened by a preceding kiku-beki haztt da ga, beki, "should," "ought," thus Areba, jiki .A7.
implies.
:
etc.
(Conf.
[
178 and
f
192.)
m
THE NOUN.
42
Nochi
no nat
yd
toki,
\
Imslness's is-not t Ime,
f
;//,
s,
hanashimasho.
(
w jn
j j
leisure
te n
w
j at;er j
t
]
you a b O ut
ien
J
"
Toki nitf. the beginning of a sentence is a sort of expletive corresponding more or less to our "by the way."
i
More
58.
difficult
than any of the above are the uses of
" from the original concrete sense of place," has come to be used in various abstract meanings. Sometimes, like koto, it assumes the signification of "a
tokoro, which,
"a
thing of the mind," "a matter," as in the following example
subject,"
"a
quality,"
:
r -_
7
.
J
no tokoro
Kyukm Wage
s
wa,
nuttier as-far,
^
m
.
1
tsuh month
in,
A
good instance
at the
In
end of
is
conjunction as
"while,"
Chodo
.
apt
to
^
substantives,
occurs
tokoro,
especially
when
assume the force of some such
"whereupon," "when,"
"just
:
dcru
tokoro ye,
,
A
,
visitQr ^as
Ka
Tokoro ga implies opposition, thus Ima-jibun irasshlta tokoro ga, Note-time tleiyncd-to-ao even-if. rusu deshd.
on the
o gO n g out.
(no,n.) appeared.
JiOnotirabJy
to
equivalent to our suffix
as
abstract
of a sentence,
followed by ye, as," thus
111
now
mattei o f wages, ~ T nv t v, at :ij sa >
280.
middle
the
of tokoro,
used to form ^f
T 1
f
ten-doUs(7}wil1-2>rol>al>ly-ffive.
"....ness"
I
"Coming ^mav
'^Vif & lve y U ten dollars /a month."
tsukawasMmasho.
jit-en
\
:
Even j \
now you lQ find
if
you do go
are not likely
TOKORO.
43
means ga means "never-
Similarly at the beginning of a sentence, iokoro de
"thereupon" or
"and
so," while iokoro
same," sometimes "it occurs to me Another grammatical use of Iokoro is that in which
theless," "still," "all the
that." it
corresponds to some extent to the relative pronouns of as explained in ^f 86.
European languages, Tokoro
and
is
in
often,
familiar
to
nigori'ed
talk,
dokoro,
expresses an almost scornfully strong degree of For instance, a male visitor hazards the affirmation.
then
remark that the
along
hostess's
his
old
is
baby
The fond mother,
floor.
enough
her offspring's powers rated so low, retorts
Hau
dokoro
Creep
place
nai;
ja
isn't;
yoku\ well
r
arukimasu.
V
(lie) Hfijjfs.
'
Similarly
Yomeru
?
!
beautifully.
lecture
/
"Able d
d
,
to
wfa
,
read h
in-
'
d
livers lectures."
Many nouns
are simply the indefinite forms of verbs
used
substantively,
"...
.ing," such as
" to part of the verb
somewhat
like our English nouns in "the beginning," which is properly a Here are a few examples begin."
"trade;"
:
from akinau,
latami,
"a canal;" "a mat;"
,,
tatamu,
tsttre,
"companions;"
,,
lsurentt
ivarai,
"laughter;"
yorokobi,
"joy
horit
:
"It is no case of creeping, I can assure Why" he walks you.
dokoro ka P koshaku\
even forthcomes.
akinai,
creep
having
:
Able-to-reaa place
59-
to
indignant at
,,
,,
horu,
wara^t,
" ;
,,
yorokobu,
"to " to
trade."
excavate.
"
"to pile up." "to take with one." "to laugh." " " to rejoice.
THE NOUN.
44
NOUNS USED AS ADJECTIVES.
T
60.
The Japanese
with ours (see
used in
parts of speech
9),
"|f
and nouns
language than
this
the next chapter that
are
do not exactly coincide much more extensively
We
in English.
shall see in
pronouns are really True adjectives also are scarce, and are frequent-
nouns.
the
so-called
" a replaced by nouns, just as in English we say gold chain/' "a sugar-plum," "the Pan's fashions/' "a thing The chief ways in which a noun may do of beauty." ly
duty for an adjective are ^f 61.
I.
As
first
Amerika-jin,
member
lit.
compound, thus "America person/' i.e., "an American."
"mud
doro-ashi,
"
Nihon-go,
:
of a
:
"muddy
feet,"
feet."
" the Japanese lan-
Japan words,"
guage." If
Followed by the postposition no, "of," the order of the words, it should be noted, being the reverse of that 62. II.
followed in English, thus
:
2
3 atari no keishoku,* lit. "scenery of 2 neighbourhood 1 "the surrounding scenery." 1
kinjo no i.e.,
tobutsu-ya,
lit,
"a neighbouring
mukashi no
Kito,
i.e.,
,
''Chinese-thing-shop of vicinity,"
general shop." lit.
"people of antiquity,"
i.e.,
"the
5
ancients.'' If
63.
III.
Followed by the word na
(see ^f 197), thus
heia
na
e-kaki,
"a foolish (being 2 ) fellow 3 ." "a convenient machine." "an unskilful painter."
jozu
na
e-kaki,
"a
baka*
na? yatsu*,
choho na
kikai,
kirei na musume, odayaka na nami,
:
1
skilful painter."
"a pretty "a calm
girl."
sea"
(lit.
"calm waves").
NOUNS USED AS ADJECTIVES AND ADVERBS.
Some
of these words
fa'rei,
stantly used as adjectives,
for
45 con-
so
are
instance,
that their proper sense as
nouns
In the cases where it tends to pass out of remembrance. is preserved, the word takes no after it when it is used as a noun, and na heta
1
no
when
used as an adjective, thus 3 " the 4 3 of speech nagcf-dang?, long
2
it is
1
:
an
that bad proverb signifying speakers are apt to say more than the occasion requires.
unskilful
heia
Mr
na 2
1
/'
T^-
"unskilful 1 being 2 physician unskilful doctor." (Jozu Ji^- corresponds
isha* samcf,
4
almost
"an
i.e.
literally to the
to
"
N. B.
a
(speaker),"
a
lit.
"a good hand
English
at,"
and heta
bad hand at")
Conf.
cilso
IT
197.
NOUNS USED AS ADVERBS.
When followed by the postposition ni, "in," or de, "by," nouns such as those above instanced often cor64.
respond to European adverbs, thus baka
gwaikoku
ni
or
countries,"
jozu m,
:
"foolishly."
ni,
"abroad."
de, i.e.,
(gwaikoku
" outer
"foreign countries.")
"skilfully."
Sometimes they are taken
adverbially,
postposition be suffixed, thus konnichi,
"this day,"
or "to-day."
mukashi,
"antiquity,"
,,
For nouns used
even
though
:
"anciently," "formerly."
as postpositions, see ^[ 141 et seq.
no
CHAPTER
IV.
The Pronoun. PERSONAL PRONOUNS. *f[
65.
The Japanese words corresponding
the
to
personal
pronouns of European languages are simply nouns whose original significations are quite clear, and which are indeed
used
often
still
for the
with those significations.
sake of convenience to foreign students,
not be necessary to
it
Except would
them apart from nouns
discuss
in
They belong to the category of such descriptive expressions as "your humble servant," "your ladyship,"
general.
"His
terms
Self-depreciatory
Majesty."
preferred in speaking of oneself
(ist.
are
naturally
person), and compli-
mentary terms in speaking to other people (2nd. person), also sometimes in speaking Bother people (3rd. person). If
66.
The most
"selfishness."
and
ivashi.
are boku,
men
The
vulgar
Other nouns
"servant,"
in
"1"
usual equivalent for
now
which
awkward person;"
shosei,
corruption of ware, " I " in the
which
much each
"junior." is
watakfishi, it
the
to
lit.
watashi
same sense
current in the
is
addressing
familiarly
is
contract
often
affected
by young "the
other;
sessha,
Ore
a very vulgar
is
commonest word
for
Written Language. Ora, which may often be heard from the mouths of coolies, stands for ore wa.
T
67.
mon
The use
"you"
following equivalents for :
anata,
a contraction
"beyond" (which meaning
is
are
of ano kata,
still
retained
in
all
in
com-
" that side," poetry,
as
PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
47
Anala is a polite anata, "beyond the clouds"). expression; with the addition of sama, "Mr.," "Mrs.,"
kumo no
"
"Miss," "Lord," lit.
"
honourably
Lady,"
in /rout,"
it is supremely polite. Omae, was formerly polite, but is now
only used in addressing inferiors, such as coolies, one's own Omae san (san is short servants, one's own children, etc.
sama} stands half-way between anata and omae in polite" It is much used by women. Scnsei, senior," is used chiefly in addressing men or women of learning.
for
ness.
Danna
prince,"
other
chiefly
B.
ber,"
:
up
to
"Your
i.e.
it.
inferior
for
'
Kakka " beneath the council-cham-
Excellency;" sono
"you" employed
ho,
"that side," the
in the law-courts
by legal an insulting term used in addressing an with whom one is angry.
equivalent ;
in
Kimi,
used by young men in addressing each the above may be mentioned
" Your Majesty;
officers
servant
Reverence naturally restrains loyal ^subjects from addressing itself they raise their eyes no higher than the ground below
the steps leading i.e.
a
by
inferiors generally.
" beneath the steps of the throne,"
lit.
the throne
used
is
Besides
familiarly.
Heika, N".
is
Master,"
master, and by
his
addressing
"
"Mr.
san,
kisama,
" JV. B. Etymologically ki-sama means exalted Sir other words, it has fallen from its former high estate.
;"
but, like
many
" before the temae, lit. hand," is remarkable ; for be used either a humble and therefore polite as may very an for or as "I," equivalent insulting equivalent for "you."
The word
it
In
the
sense
prefixed.
of
"you,"
The rude
use of
it
formerly had the honorific n
it
came
in
through the dropping
of the honorific.
Danna
68.
Scnsei,
for
the third person
san, Heika,
("he"
and Kakka " she
or
are as appropriate
"),'
when speaking
THE PRONOUN. politely, as for the
" " she " are ano Kilo, " that honourable lit. onna,
" that
Much
woman
i.e.,
also occasionally also
more
for
be
"he" and
politely ano o kata,
"that man;" ano "that old gentleman ;" " the Muko, lit. opposite
side;" ano oloko,
ano
;"
other
the
use
in
that person,"
ano obasan, "that old lady side,"
Anata may
second.
heard in that sense.
ojiisan, ;" etc.
not infrequently represents
party,"
"he," "she," or "they." Are, "that," is also sometimes " used for " he or " she," but it is not at all polite, and more "it." The vague it means i.e., "one," which corresponds to French " on " and German "man," has no equivalent in Japanese. " to Thus, clap one's hands" is simply te wo lalaku, lit. often
refers
to
things,
or
English
"you"
"hands
(accus.) clap."
"You
has no means of knowing ") " might equally well stand for
The word
N. B.
is
I
(meaning "one simply shiremasen, which
can't tell"
can't tell."
adduced by some
as an equivalent of it is not really so, as it always retains the French impersonal " " " other its proper sense of person," people." people," especially htlo has been " on." But
nouns
indeed more frequently than other the so-called personal pronouns may take the plural
suffixes
mentioned on page
69.
Like other nouns
sanctioned by usage
29.
The
following forms are
:
watakushi-domo
anaia-gala
boku-ra
omae- [sajt-
scssha-domo
omae- \san^\ tachi we.
sessha-ra
sensei-gala
oira (for orc-ra, very
danna-sliu
vulgar)
danna-gala
ano
liilo-tachi
ano
o kala-gata
are-ra (rude)
kimi-tachi "
' '
they.
Kisama-lachi temae-t(a}chi-ra
you.
PERSONAL PRONOUNS. N. B.
49
Observe, however, that ivalakushi-domo
is
used for
often
being slightly humbler than ivatakushi. Oira, too, may be heard in the singular, the line between singular and plural, as already
the singular,
it
noticed in
44, being less sharply
^[
drawn
in
Japanese than in European
Note, moreover, that the Japanese never use their words for " " we," as we sometimes do ours, to signify you and I." They only use them to signify " other people and I," or rather " I and my fellows." " " We," in the sense of you and I," may be expressed by such a phrase
languages.
to ; but more often the meaning is approximately some other idiomatic way by employing an honorific. Siv, instance, ^j 445, No. 115, and ^[ 449, No. 16.
wataknshi
as anatn to
rendered for
70.
in
Like other nouns, the so-called personal pronouns
ano
ko
no
that
child
of
so also do
oya, parent,
i
(in
fa
'
i.e.,
)
addressing an i.e.
inferior)
"
;
ano
i.e.,
no oya,
tiito
"your parent" " the parent of
;" etc.
we say ko
Tiutt
parent.
his (or her) parent
ivo hidoi me ni child (accus.) juwsh c^cs io
Sono
"
'my
"the parent of you,"
oya,
that person,"
parent of me,"
}" the
of parent,
Just as
,,
h
\
we say
watakushi no oya,
omae no
((
}
may
Thus, just as we say
he followed hy postpositions.
awasemashita,
\ {
(
"
He treated that i. e. child very badly," ,
ca used-lo- in cct,
so also
There
may we
is.
say
therefore,
nouns or any special 71
-
The
no such thing
as a
set of possessive
chief thing to
remember
declension of pro-
pronouns.
in
connection with the
Japanese nouns answering to our personal pronouns
is
the
THE PRONOUN,
50
Except in cases extremely rare use that is made of them. the information or of special emphasis concerning antithesis,
means persons which is in European languages conveyed by Thus of pronouns, is left to be gathered from the context. the single or
"he, she or they drift
previous
frotn,
naturally
will
of the conversation.
wo tsukaimashoA
Kore kara furo Tliis
mean " I have come back," have come back," according to the
word kaerimasMa
ItntJi
will-use,
(accus.)
means " 1
will
a matter of course
now
that,
take
in
individual can speak only for
i.e.,
now
"Will
f take a bath."
my
bath
;" for it is
almost
such personal things, each I can only eat my himself.
dinner, probably love only my own country, and work To be, thereonly to support my own wife and children. fore, forever reiterating and harping on the words "I,"
own
"me," "my," "you," "he, "etc., seems to Japanese ears A Japanese will often disabsurd and tedious tautology. course for half-an-hour without using a single personal The perpetual recurrence of watakushi and anata pronoun. is one of the surest signs of a clumsy foreign speaker, who
own idiom into Japanese, instead of thinking These remarks will lead impersonally as the Japanese do. the intelligent student to observe that most of the examples
translates his
scattered throughout
the present
work
are susceptible of
we have Where, " correct to insert be would often he," equally put "I," " " The use of "you," that is she," or they," in its stead.
being variously
rendered.
for instance,
it
of the second person, in English generally necessitates
some
Japanese phrase, especially if an equal or This point will be elucidated in the superior be addressed. Chapter on Honorifics, \ 392 et seq., a chapter which
change
in the
the student would do well to read through in connection
REFLECTIVE, DEMONSTRATIVE, ETC., PRONOUNS.
51
with what has here been said on the subject of persona
pronouns.
REFLECTIVE PRONOUNS.
The word "self" may be expressed by jibun (less often loyjishiri), commonly followed by the postposition de, thus 72.
:
watakushi jibun.
)
'
_
7
.
..
"myself."
\
waiakustnjishin,
omaejibun (not honorific), v '
)
../
"yourself."
\
go jibun (honorific), N. B. The above occur only when emphasised.
(Conf.
^[
Another word
71, also
for
^
the idea of "self" has to
1x3
324.)
"self"
is
onore,
which
is
also
used
as an insulting equivalent for
"you." Waga, a Classical form whose proper meaning is "my," " may still sometimes be heard in the sense of my own," " our " own," one's own," thus
waga
kuni,
patrie."
But
and
"my
lectures.
more
"my
lit.
its
use
So
is
:
"one's
country," is
chiefly
that of the
phrase
"/
country,"
confined
to
waga
set
speeches
"we,"
hai,
fellows."
DEMONSTRATIVE, INTERROGATIVE, AND INDEFINITE
PRONOUNS AND ADVERBS. 73.
The
demonstrative,
interrogative,
and
indefinite
pro-
nouns, being marked by certain correspondences of sound and formation, may be best studied by means of the table
The adverbs
which we give on the next page.
derived from
same roots are also given there, so that the learner may embrace all the kindred forms in one glance. He
the
should nearer
note that '
'
that
"
Japanese, (sore, Latin
like '
Latin,
'
isle")
distinguishes
from a further
'
'
that
a "
THE PRONOUN,
~~
Page 52, second line top right-hand column. For dmnn ? read dono ?
(arc, Latin "ille
the tormer being used of things not very
'),
and of things connected with the person spoken while the latter is applied to things which are distant
distant to,
or have relation to the person spoken
furthermore
that
He must
of.
note
like
French, distinguishes Japanese, forms of these pronouns from adjective forms, " kore, celui-ci," but kono, "ce."
substantive e.g.
Here are a few examples of the use of the substantive kore, "this;" sore, "that" (near); are, "that"
75.
forms (far)
;
do> e
t>
"which?" dare
more
or
f*
politely donata
/>
"
"who?"; nani? what ?" Kore wa omoshiroi. (i.e., " As m.i
as-fot;
| or
amusinff.
Sore wa, nan desu ?
(
more
" What
for this, it
is
is
"This
briefly,
that (which
wimtHs(i)9 (your hand, etc.) ?" dare no uchi desu /> j " Whose
amusing," fun."
is
you have
in
tts-fl "'
ij(-if)-is. \
Arb
hazu
(Thc're-]tviU-probaUij-be
wa
nai.
^ 1
SW
3/iJM
" There ought
(
necessity as-for, is-not. j
not to be."
Observe that as the Japanese language, generally speaking, abhors the use of the passive, the verbs employed in relative sentences are almost always neuter or active ones, thus :
Nanseti Sliipa-reck
Haruka
ui aimasfiila~suifu-ra. to,
met
oki ni
sailors.
mieru fune.
Afar, offing in, appears
Hepburn sensei no Hepburn senior /'tedictionary.
'.
vessel.
koshiraela (he)preptired
"The
j
shipwrecked
[sailors. (
|
<
\
"The be Seen
vessel that
far
at Sea.
"The was
dictionary written by
/Hepburn," \
to
is
"
away
i.e.,
which Dr.
"Dr.
Hepburn's dictionary.
"
THE PRONOUN.
58
iuannaino mono.
Otokichito Lit.
"the guide (annai no mono,
person of guidance), of
say
(iu)
that
Arashi
he
(to)
iu
to
is
whom
people
mono.
.. " What
}
m hum. .
,
.
j
.
,,
,.,
(
"the thing (mono} of which r people say (/) that (to) it is a I typhoon (aras/ii.)"
to
guide called Oto" Otokichl the
Or
kichi,"
Otokichi."
Lit.
Amenka
"The
\
i.e. >
.
l-
^
is
,
simply,
,
called a typhoon, \ a typhoon.
,,
" The call Amecountry people r J ,, ,\ A z.tf. simply, "America. .
.
nca, .V.
to in
and other
passive,
must be
Tins impersonal but active construction with
/>'.
synonymous
verbs, corresponding
the
to
English
thoroughly mastered, as it is constantly in the mouths of the people. It is often used for making general assertions, such as
Dogs are faithful creatures," or The dog is a faithful creature."
to iu
mono
mono
iva,
chugi no ant
desu.
As-for (wo.) the thing {mono} of which people say (iif) that (to} it it is (desu) a thing (mono} which is (ant) of (no} faithful-
Lit. is
Inu
a dog (inu),
ness (cJwgi}.
Here our
the five words inu to in
single word mono ma.
"
"
dog
" or " dogs
is
rendered by
This use of the active where a European would expect
82.
the passive sometimes causes an
Thus
shiranailnto "
may
appearance of ambiguity. "a person who does
signify either
or " a person
who is not known (to me)," i.e. But as a rule the person whom I do not know." context sufficiently indicates which way the phrase should For instance, yonde 1 shimatla 2 /ion 3 cannot be taken. not
know
"a
mean "the book which
possibly
has finished reading," as
such a collocation of words would have no sense. only
mean "the book 3 which 1
reading
."
1
resides ." 1
resides ."
Sumat? It
tochi^
they,
2
locality
in
It
can
have finished 2
etc.)
cannot mean " the
must mean " the
The
(I,
2
locality
which
which (so-and-so)
following are similar instances
:
RELATIVE PRONOUNS.
Tochaku
shiia toki.
did
Arrival
Wakaranai
j CtC.
koto.
time when
The example
they,
I
don't
understand."
|
"That which ni motleru mono. j in is-hoidin
do ?
(ctcais.')
Sometimes
/'/
is
de
it
by
all
classes of speakers, thus
kiru.
(motte)
to-ctit.
(motte)' shibaru. to-tic.
Kazc aotte
de (motte)
NA
To
[
ga
to
masu.
slammiiw
For
the
sells well.
often suffixed to
Nawa
it is
which
197
on
door keeps slamaccount of the
THE
74
POSTPOSITION.
m ([
The
104.
original sense of ni
Kono
hen
ni
Tills neif/JibourJiood
wa
is
" \
kiji
pheasants
in,
?
arc-not
N. B.
Compare
this
into,"
Are
j
neighbourhood
example with the
on
fifth
Kono
ryori-nin
(acctes.),
ni
watasMte
kudasai.
to,
lutnd.in*/
contlescend.
lioiioui'dble
(/) Jiuve-Jtimy
eyes
Ni
has
j
other
m by
really
to
\
mottoes
it is
considered to a
when introduced
acquaintance.)
uses,
of which
s
<
Michi
I want to go to see lhe che rry-bloSSOmS at
f
Ueno."
only with the indefinite form of the verb that ni has this it follows the present tense used as
It is
ito hito*
zva
2
we? bushi \ As-for
Lit.
.,
sakura
(
flowers
1 ,
the king of the
is
cherry
and the warrior ( kjn kjng of men>
(A proverb.)
2
The
J flowerSj
(the best
the cherry-blossom
is)
4
and-to-the-foregoing-it-may-be-added-that 7 5 beings (the best are) warriors
as-foi
,
6
3 ;
human-
.
,
NO. no. No means "
AmerM .,
r
,
-.
no'
of/' or
denotes the possessive case
_o
.,-
-
(
DaOoryf. j
Neko
the
no 2
1
"
.'
verb aru,
form ofr,the
to be.
A
"Way
.
,,
of being,"
Justasit i s/
"
Something K oughte (More (
shina. rtidc.
>*
(
We
the
>
)
KaUalakanno BauffM only
2
cat'V claw^V
" V
:
of
United
lsu?ne*.
mdefinite
"
3 " The president
<
lit.
only just
An
article
of quite reC ent buying. ")
have already noticed,
when
of the post-
treating
many apparently nomiThe same tendency is
position ga, the genitive origin of native
I liave
in
expressions Japanese. exemplified by no, though less frequently in the Colloquial than in the Written Language, thus :
Kisha Train
wo
no
tsuko
sum
passage does
's
" tokit
senro
abunai.
yokogitcha
,
dangerous. (It would be more polite to say abuno gozaimasu.} (acctts.)
in. No
as-for-crosshif/,
is
used
in
(is)
of the postpositions excepting
such phrases.
the
An example
110
it
when
line is
passing." time passing of the
"
lit.
of the
to
dangerous
the
train
(More
at the
train.")
attributive phrases
suffixed to, the other postpostions,
It is
cross
time, 'line
either in lieu
being a rule that
or
of,
none
can connect two nouns in
or two will
make
this clearer
:
NO.
(1)
Kono ura tint*
77//.V
(2)
ni ike in,
77
ga gozaimasu.
pond (nom.)
Kono ura no
(
wa, asd
ike.
,
Tr
^
(3)
(4)
\
,
.
Kimi
of this
"
Kuni kara no dempo.
A
back
"
have
re-
.
}
C1
d
t
,
} ^ (from home.
telegram from home."
In the above predicative phrases (the
each English preposition
"I
(
kimashita. CoHHtrv from, telegram (nom.) has-come.
ga
dempo
at the
shallow.
is
,v,
,
kara
''
at the
" The pond
(
gozaimasu.
" There is a pond back of this.
j
V*.
and the
first
third),
rendered by the Japanese post-
is
position properly corresponding to
it.
But turn the phrase
attributively (the second and fourth), and no either supplants,
or is suffixed to, that postposition (no for ni in the second, kara no for kara in the fourth).
In this
manner
idea of relation
come
to
be
;
"of," comes to express almost every
no,
or rather
one idea of " of ;" thus
Aiami no
the various
all
summed up by
the Japanese
ideas of relation
mind under
(<
onsen.
The
hot springs at Atami."
" The snow on
Fuji no yuki.
" Nichi-Nichi'"
no
the
:
Fuji."
("A
Oya no mo. Waloku no dampan.
in the leading article " " Daily News/ \ " The mournings/or a parent." " Deliberations about peace."
Korera-byo no yobo.
" Precautions against cholera."
shasetsu.
Even the idea of apposition heading,
for instance
Indeed apposition "
The province
its
place
under
this
" His retainer Tosuke."
Keraino Tosuke.
a similar idiom with
finds
:
is
"
often expressed in of," as
of Yamato."
when we
English
say
Yamato no
kuni.
itself
by
THE POSTPOSITION.
78 ^f
No
112.
substantively with the meaning of the ''one" or " ones" (see also ^ 137), thus " A bad one." Warui no.
used
is
English \void
:
Jobu na
For the na vijobu na, see
N. B.
wa
Kore lliis
n
no
s-for, ffood
Under
this
j
a
good
note the following specimens of a
2
as
t
"stamps
i.e.
,"
is
"
one.
:
1 Jnshi no furui* no* 1
" This
}
is.
heading,
curious idiom
197.
It is a thing I have . _y mita no desu. J seen any number of smv one is.
times even,
How-mat))/
*[
solid one."
da.
one
mo
tah
Iku
stamps
"A
no.
"old 3
as possible,
lit.
old," hence
are
that
ones* of 2
"some
old
stamps."
Kwashi no y 1
5
shinki* m'^yaita no
8
newness have-burnt
6
5
one of
2
e
as
,
cake
as possible,
lit.
,
i.e.,
freshly baked," or more simply, cake."
been
There intention
is
the
just
"in 4
"a cake that has "a freshly baked
1
shadow of a shade of difference in and the simpler
between these circumlocutions
expressions
" Old stamps." A freshly baked cake."
Fund inshi.
"
Shinki ni yaita KwasJii.
The circumlocutory form
with
the
two
no's
seems to
contain a tacit reference to stamps that are not old and cakes that are not freshly baked, a sort of emphatic dwelling on the ideas of oldness If
113. to
No
often
English
"Japanese"
and of freshness
serves
adjectives,
(see
"jf
62,
to
form
as
and
expressions
Nikon If
respectively.
197
no,
corresponding
"of Japan,"
ft seq.}.
i.e.,
Sometimes, in
NO.
quite familiar talk,
emphatic
occurs as a
it
final particle
corresponding to
force,
"and
English phrase
so there!" or
with a certain
of the
that
Colloquial
"and what do you
T A
good example of this occurs towards " Handbook, in Chap. II of the JBotan-doro" conversation between O Yone and Shijo, where
of that
think
79
the
end of
in
the
attention
this
is
drawn
to
114.
At other times,
no
employed
it
in a foot-note.
and
is a very favourite idiom, of equivalent for the word koto meaning "act," "fact." This construction is specially apt to occur in conjunction with the substantive verb da or desu, is
and " it
this
a kind
as
generally best rendered in
English by the phrase For instance, a man has made an appointment, but a note comes from him about the time
he
is is
is
this,
"is
that," or
expected to says
Konai 7 .
B.
that ?"
One
arrive.
of the bystanders, observing
:
no
daro.
Will-not-cotne fact
A
it
Though
"I suppose COm ing. "
f
it
is
that he
jrrobMy-is. | isn't
the sense
is
properly that of koto,
may
not no, after
be here derived from the word mono by apocope of the first syllable? For notwithstanding what has been said in ^[ 54 concerning the distinction to be drawn between koto and mono, a certain amount of all,
confusion in the use of the two words can scarcely IDC denied ; and as a matter of fact, one not infrequently hears such expressions as Itonai inon\o\ daro.
In such contexts, the word no conversation
generally
is,
may
clipped of
sinks into the single letter
'.
Thus
might equally well be Konai n daro, n'
deshb (conf.
Nani
^f
be, its
and
in
familial-
vowel, so that
it
the above
example or more politely Konai
343-5).
wo
sum
n
desu
((icdis.)
do
fact
is?
f>\ j
" What doing ?"'
is
it
that
you are
So
m
Massugu
n
iku
stwtffM-if,
ff
o
THE
POSTPOSITION.
desu
^^J O n?"
is
net,
|
Ant
nor
is
fact?
A7
1
(
is
The be
is
go straight "Is it that go slraight Qn ?
IQ
"Do
lit.
you mean
to say
?"
last example, no cannot be clipped of very end of a sentence.
this
at the
" What
/"
are
is it
you doing
that
?" with
its
may
Nani wo Nani wo sum ri
by comparing,
exemplified
"What
shimasu ?
T
am
to
I
more
exact force of no preceding the verb da or desu
practically
desu
T
Is there ?"
| that there
As shown
B.
".
"
vowel when standing
"Am
(
say,
you are doing?"
The verb da, "is," and the postposition no combine form the word dano, which serves for purposes of enu-
115.
to
Dano must, like the Latin que, be repeated each of the items enumerated, thus
meration.
after
:
Shishi dano, fora dano, dano, rakuda dano.
There
\
"Lions, tigers, elephants, and camels."
dano and ni (see "| 109) simply copulative, dano conveys
difference between
a
is
zo]
Ni
used enumeratively.
is
Thus, when a Japanese kwashi dano, he means
the idea of a multiplicity of objects.
sake
says to
convey to
fish,
liquor,
sake
ni,
other good things besides the and cakes enumerated. But when he says
sakana
and no more. is
no,
somewhat but
as an
Thus:
this
dano,
hearers the idea of a variously assorted
his
including
feast,
sakana
dano,
possibly
ni,
kwashi,
Observe,
The
vulgar. is
less
enumerative
polite
often
after
he speaks of just those three that the word dano
moreover,
used.
equivalent
is
de gazaimasu
No sometimes
serves
other than the substantive verbs.
Si
SHI.
Kimi ivarukatta no, ga ''Talk of feeling Mental -feel inns (ttent). were-bad and, and so forth, frightened no osoroshii me ni nan to, a rough I have had ami
it'/Hif
fearful
that,
alle
to
eyes
of
time
kite.
Jun-iny-niet (/) Jut re-conic.
I
it,
can
tell
you."
(Famil.)
N. B. No, in its proper sense of " of," is sometimes replaced in the higher style by the Chinese word tcki, $3. Sometimes the two are used " a revolutogether, as seiji-teki kakumei, or seiji-tcki no kakwnci, lit. tion of politics,"
i.e.,
" a political revolution."
SHI. Shi, a postposition \vhich
1 1 6.
is
not capable of translation
into English, has a sort of enumerative force, a kind of pause, thus
Kono
and serves
as
:
" From the second mo Fuji Fujiyama also storey here you can umi mo mieru shi ; makoto see Fujiyama and sea also is-risiblc truth you can see the sea,
nikai
iva,
This second-storey as-for,
mieru
sJii,
is-visiblc,
ni
:
kesJiiki desu.
ii
view
in, f/ood
truly
a
beautiful
view."
is.
-SY^'is frequently appended to the verbal form in mat (the "improbable present or future"). Thus, when bandying words with a jinrikisha-man who should attempt to make
an overcharge, one might say
kuruma
Hajimete
wo
Foi'-the-flrst-thne
velilcle (acctts.)
tanomi
shimai
ff.v/.-
ya
shi, as-for, (7) 2^'obabJy-do-not;
soba
taigai for-tJie-inofit-part
mo
shitie
iru
also
'kiHHchif/
am
is
market-price
wa !
:
"You you I
?
don't
that this
is
imagine, the
first
do time
have hired a jinrikisha, and know the proper
that I don't fare !"
(cmph.')
Occasianally shi seems to terminate a sentence; but this only because tl e speaker, after finishing the first clause,
THE
82 himself at
finds
a
POSTPOSITION.
loss
the
concerning
and
second,
so
perforce leaves the sentence unfinished.
N. B. form
finite
not confound the postposition ski with ski the " indeof the verb stim, " to do," which appears in such idioms as
Do "
mi mo
shi, kiki
117.
To
mo sum,
" one both sees
it
and hears
it."
TO. *[[
pronoun "that:"
originally had the sense of our demonstrative " but it now has the sense of our that,"
conjunction
L so
7
da
to
iiinasu.
!.<
is
thai
sails. says.
is
that
says that
ihinli.
\
a lie."
<
j
think lhat
it is
'
" It is a lie. He says Originally therefore the sense was " It is truth. I think that." The conversion of the demon-
N. B. that."
strative
of
it is
J
Jfonlo da to omoimasu. Ti'iitJi
He
\
:
pronoun
into the conjunction
as in the case of
to,
its
came about gradually
English equivalent
in the case
" that."
In the above, and in most similar phrases, English idiom word " that;" but to cannot so
generally prefers to omit the
be omitted
meaning
The
in Japanese.
" literally
in idiomatic
following are instances of
English
:
"
Omae san Tb
nan
to f/iat
" "
no
na
wa,
What
is
name
your
?"
*
e name of ** " As for Mr. >s name as-for, \ ka/>(Saidtoetcom-}nlr> you, what [do people] mon person.} \ say that it is ?" say ? (
m
m
Tokyo Mar u" Tokyo Mam "
mosufune. win
to
that," but not lending itself to expression
vessel.
"A
to
that
vessel '"
Maru/ which '
more
called " lit.
the
A
that
people] " say
'Tokyo
vessel
[of
is
the
it
Tokyo Maru.'
(Conf. p. 58 for this important idiom.)
Similarly in
the case of such onomatopoetic adverbs as
Idllo, palallo, etc., where the to (strengthened into//") properly speaking, a separate word, thus
Jiallo, is,
:
TO.
...
,r
,
.... ,
Nochihodfr-
kitt
wen
stiffi
s
dcsu.
-for
\
,
\
w
j
far
CQn _ U do
it
weather."
have
may
to-day at least
")
" Out
not
waves
at sea the
rough
;
vessel
so Will
sail.
"Now "
(
[
I
am
at
leisure.
" The water
mi, < ts
fine
pretty the vessel [probably"
because,
ig
-
/^lseem
'kara,
claret
go
.
t
other days,
\
Offi n{/ us-for. plentifully,
arai
i
)
yohodo
.
asltls
,
[been
the
j^t
.
'
lhe beer d ' tht
"To-day it is "Whatever
\
yoi
\fa\Q
in
condition
><
yor oshii.
Konnichi
"Warm
sukoshi
in
this
well
comes
^o m (
the aqueduct." " " 9 l The wel1 hef e " an Aqueduct (! ) the beginner might suppose, if he mis-
N
I
as
j
took iva for a sign of the nominative case.)
WA.
Korc dc
komanmasu.
it'a
bu
77//.S
\
wa
Yoku
wa
Well
as-foi;
(
nomimasen.
Tobacco as-for,
Korc
contracted
n-Jtfnnperc
iki-gake
towards
Station
POSTPOSITION.
"
yolny-u-JiUc, choilo ye
dcnshin-kyoku
Just
at,
teleyraph-office
look in at
will just
I
on
my
put
it
the telegraph office way to the station.''
yorimasu. ti'lU-stop.
Koko
yc
Here
to
A7
.
The second
B.
"Please
kudasai. oite oitc ( puttiny puttiny condescend. ^ oite is the
the force of an auxiliary (see
^
same verb
down as the
here." first,
but has only
298).
YORT. 135.
Yori means "from/' "since," "than ( -
Kamigaia yon.
(
kekko na
wo,
its
"Since the day before
{yesterday." o
" Thanks
t
-Inythiny than, splendid honourable] did
shina
(or
neigbbourhood)i
(
Issakujdsuyon.
Nani yori
:"
"From Kyoto"
arigato gozaimasu.
am.
articic (accus.} tJianitfui
1
for
your splen(3fore
present."
lit.
for
your more-splendiduhan-anything present.)
POSTPOSITIONS COMBINED. 136.
Postpositions
as in English
Some
we
may be combined
instances have
portions of this chapter.
Go
shinipai
Attyutit nnx-lct y
ni
wa
to
oyobimascn. reaches- not
Oshii lii-i/reiic
View more...
Comments
