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On'yomi
, or the Sino-Japanese vocabulary, Sino-Japanese reading, is the reading of a kanji based on the historical Chinese pronunciation of the character. A single kanji might have multiple ''on'yomi'' pronunciations, reflecting the Chinese pronunciations of different periods or regions. ''On'yomi'' pronunciations are generally classified into ''go-on'', ''kan-on'', ''tō-on'' and ''kan'yō-on'', roughly based on when they were borrowed from China. Generally, ''on'yomi'' pronunciations are used for technical, compound words, while the native ''kun'yomi'' pronunciation is used for singular, simpler words. Usage ''On'yomi'' primarily occur in , many of which are the result of the adoption, along with the kanji themselves, of Chinese words for concepts that either did not exist in Japanese or could not be articulated as elegantly using native words. This borrowing process is often compared to the List of English words with dual French and Anglo-Saxon variations, English borrowings fro ...
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Sino-Japanese Vocabulary
Sino-Japanese vocabulary, also known as , is a subset of Japanese vocabulary that originated in Chinese language, Chinese or was created from elements borrowed from Chinese. Most Sino-Japanese words were borrowed in the 5th–9th centuries AD, from Early Middle Chinese into Old Japanese. Some grammatical structures and sentence patterns can also be identified as Sino-Japanese. is one of three broad categories into which the Japanese vocabulary is divided. The others are native Japanese vocabulary (''yamato kotoba'') and borrowings from other, mainly Western languages (''gairaigo''). It has been estimated that about 60% of the words contained in modern Japanese dictionaries are ', and that about 18–20% of words used in common speech are '. The usage of such words also increases in formal or literary contexts, and in expressions of abstract or complex ideas. ', the use of Chinese-derived words in Japanese, is to be distinguished from ''kanbun'', which is historical Classical Chin ...
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Kanji
are logographic Chinese characters, adapted from Chinese family of scripts, Chinese script, used in the writing of Japanese language, Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequently-derived Syllabary, syllabic scripts of and . The characters have Japanese pronunciations; most have two, with one based on the Chinese sound. A few characters were invented in Japan by constructing character components derived from other Chinese characters. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan made its own efforts to simplify the characters, now known as , by a process similar to China's simplified Chinese characters, simplification efforts, with the intention to increase literacy among the general public. Since the 1920s, the Japanese government has published character lists periodically to help direct the education of its citizenry through the myriad Chinese characters that exist. There are nearly 3 ...
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Kun'yomi
is the way of reading kanji characters using the native Japanese word that matches the meaning of the Chinese character when it was introduced. This pronunciation is contrasted with ''on'yomi'', which is the reading based on the original Chinese pronunciation of the character. Generally, ''kun'yomi'' readings are used for simple, singular words, including most verbs, while ''on'yomi'' readings are used for compound, technical words. Characteristics ''Kun'yomi'' are characterized by the strict (C)V syllable structure of Japanese words (''yamato kotoba''). Most noun or adjective ''kun'yomi'' are two to three syllables long, while verb ''kun'yomi'' are usually between one and three syllables in length, not counting trailing hiragana called '' okurigana''. ''Okurigana'' are not considered to be part of the internal reading of the character, although they are part of the reading of the word. A beginner in the language will rarely come across characters with long readings, but ...
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Tō-on
are Japanese kanji readings imported from China by Zen monks and merchants during and after the Song dynasty, as a form of . See also * ''On'yomi'': Sino-Japanese readings ** '' Kan-on'': an earlier type of reading ** ''Go-on are Japanese kanji readings based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the historically prestigious eastern Jiankang (now Nanjing) dialect. ''Go-on'' are the earliest form of , preceding the readings. Both ''go-on'' and ...'': an even earlier type of reading References Zen Buddhism in the Kamakura period Buddhism in the Muromachi period Buddhism in the Edo period Kanji {{logographic-stub ...
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Japanese Family Name
in modern times consist of a family name (surname) followed by a given name. Japanese names are usually written in kanji, where the pronunciation follows a special set of rules. Because parents when naming children, and foreigners when adopting a Japanese name, are able to choose which pronunciations they want for certain kanji, the same written form of a name may have multiple readings. In exceptional cases, this makes it impossible to determine the intended pronunciation of a name with certainty. Even so, most pronunciations chosen for names are common, making them easier to read. While any jōyō kanji (with some exceptions for readability) and may be used as part of a name, names may be rejected if they are believed to fall outside what would be considered an acceptable name by measures of common sense. Japanese names may be written in hiragana or katakana, the Japanese language syllabaries for words of Japanese or foreign origin, respectively. As such, names written in hi ...
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Literary And Colloquial Readings Of Chinese Characters
Differing literary and colloquial readings for certain Chinese characters are a common feature of many Chinese varieties, and the reading distinctions for these linguistic doublets often typify a dialect group. Literary readings () are usually used in loanwords, geographic and personal names, literary works such as poetry, and in formal contexts, while colloquial readings () are used in everyday vernacular speech. For example, the character for 'white' () is normally read with the colloquial pronunciation in Standard Chinese, but can also have the literary reading in names or in some formal or historical contexts. This example is particularly well known due to its effect on the modern pronunciations "Bo Juyi" and "Li Bo" for the names of the Tang dynasty (618–907) poets Bai Juyi and Li Bai. The differing pronunciations have led linguists to explore the strata of Sinitic languages, as such differences reflect a history of dialect interchange and the influence of formal ...
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Tō-on
are Japanese kanji readings imported from China by Zen monks and merchants during and after the Song dynasty, as a form of . See also * ''On'yomi'': Sino-Japanese readings ** '' Kan-on'': an earlier type of reading ** ''Go-on are Japanese kanji readings based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the historically prestigious eastern Jiankang (now Nanjing) dialect. ''Go-on'' are the earliest form of , preceding the readings. Both ''go-on'' and ...'': an even earlier type of reading References Zen Buddhism in the Kamakura period Buddhism in the Muromachi period Buddhism in the Edo period Kanji {{logographic-stub ...
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Kan-on
are Japanese kanji readings borrowed from Chinese during the Tang dynasty, from the 7th to the 9th centuries; a period which corresponds to the Japanese Nara period. They were introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. ''Kan-on'' should not be confused with , which were later phonetic loans. ''Kan-on'' are based on the central Chang'an pronunciation of Middle Chinese. The syllable ''Kan'' is a reading of Middle Chinese: 漢 (''xanH'') as per Japanese phonology, referring to the Han dynasty, which had Chang'an as its capital city. Furthermore, ''Kan'' ( 漢) has also become a description for all things Chinese, e.g., kanji ('Chinese characters'). Kan'on partly displaced the earlier '' go-on'', which were "just imitations of Korean imitations, but ''Kan-on'' were imitations of the real thing." A minority of characters never had their ''kan-on'' transmitted to Japan; their ''kan-on'' are sometimes reconstructed in Japanese dictionaries have a ...
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Go-on
are Japanese kanji readings based on the classical pronunciations of Chinese characters of the historically prestigious eastern Jiankang (now Nanjing) dialect. ''Go-on'' are the earliest form of , preceding the readings. Both ''go-on'' and ''kan-on'' exhibit characteristics of Middle Chinese. History and uses , when China was divided into separate Northern and Southern dynasties. They may have been imported either directly from the Southern dynasty or from the Korean Peninsula. There was an influx of thinkers from China and Korea to Japan at that time, including practitioners of both Buddhism and Confucianism. However, there is no historical documentation to demonstrate that ''go-on'' readings are actually based on Southern Chinese. Shibatani has noted that ''go-on'' readings make up the first of three waves of Chinese loans to the Japanese language, the others being ''kan-on'' and ''tou-sou-on'' (meaning Tang Song sound), with ''go-on'' being mainly associated with Budd ...
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Edo Period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was characterized by prolonged peace and stability, urbanization and economic growth, strict social order, Isolationism, isolationist foreign policies, and popular enjoyment of Japanese art, arts and Culture of Japan, culture. In 1600, Tokugawa Ieyasu prevailed at the Battle of Sekigahara and established hegemony over most of Japan, and in 1603 was given the title ''shogun'' by Emperor Go-Yōzei. Ieyasu resigned two years later in favor of his son Tokugawa Hidetada, Hidetada, but maintained power, and defeated the primary rival to his authority, Toyotomi Hideyori, at the Siege of Osaka in 1615 before his death the next year. Peace generally prevailed from this point on, making samurai largely redundant. Tokugawa sh ...
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