仮名

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
仮	名
かり Grade: 5	な Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
假名 (kyūjitai) 仮字 (rare)

From Old Japanese. Compound of 仮(かり) (kari, “borrowing, provisional thing”, cognate with verb 借(か)る (karu, “to borrow”), the Old Japanese form of modern 借(か)りる (kariru)) + 名(な) (na, “name, character”), from the way that Chinese characters were borrowed for their phonetic values to spell out the sounds of native Japanese words.^[1]^[2]

Used in contrast to 真(ま)名(な) (mana, “true name, true character”), a synonym for 漢(かん)字(じ) (kanji), indicating Chinese characters used for their meaning instead of for their sound.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾʲina̠]
(Tokyo) かりな [kàríná] (Heiban – [0])^[2]

Noun

仮(かり)名(な) • (karina)

a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana
a temporary name, an alias

Synonyms

(alias): 変(へん)名(めい) (henmei): changed name; 偽(ぎ)名(めい) (gimei): false or fictitious name

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “alias”): 実(じつ)名(めい) (jitsumei): actual name; 本(ほん)名(みょう) (honmyō): real name

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
仮	名
かり > かん Grade: 5	な Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
假名 (kyūjitai) 仮字 (rare)

/karina/ → /kanna/

Contraction of 仮(かり)名(な) (karina) above.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kã̠nːa̠]
(Tokyo) かんな [kàńná] (Heiban – [0])

Noun

仮(かん)名(な) • (kanna)

a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
仮	名
かり > か Grade: 5	な Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Alternative spellings
假名 (kyūjitai) 仮字 (rare)

/karina/ → /kanna/ → /kana/

Contraction of 仮(かん)名(な) (kanna) above. The reading may appear to be jūbakoyomi, but is instead actually an irregular development of the kun'yomi.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ka̠na̠]
(Tokyo) かな [kàná] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[2]^[4]

Noun

仮(か)名(な) • (kana)

a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana
- 1603, Vocabvlario da Lingoa de Iapam (Nippo Jisho) [Vocabulary of the Language of Japan] (in Portuguese), Nagasaki, page 86:
  Cana. カナ (仮名・仮字) 日本の文字の一種. Cananiyù. (仮名に言ふ) 皆の人がわかるように, やさしく話す.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

Etymology 4

Kanji in this term
仮	名
か Grade: 5	めい Grade: 1
kan'on

Alternative spelling
假名 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 假名 (MC kaeX mjieng, literally “borrowed, false” + “name”). The kan'on reading, so probably a somewhat later borrowing from Chinese. Compare modern Cantonese reading gaa² meng^4-2.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ka̠me̞ː]
(Tokyo) かめー [kàméé] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[2]^[4]

Noun

仮(か)名(めい) • (kamei)

pseudonym, alias, sobriquet, pen name

Synonyms

変(へん)名(めい) (henmei): changed name, pseudonym
偽(ぎ)名(めい) (gimei): false name, pseudonym

Antonyms

実(じつ)名(めい) (jitsumei): actual name
本(ほん)名(みょう) (honmyō): real name

Etymology 5

Kanji in this term
仮	名
け Grade: 5	みょう Grade: 1
goon

Alternative spelling
假名 (kyūjitai)

/kemjau/ → /kemjɔː/ → /kemjoː/

From Middle Chinese 假名 (MC kaeX mjieng, literally “borrowed, false” + “name”). The goon reading, so probably an earlier borrowing from Chinese. Compare modern Min Nan reading ké-miâ.

The Buddhist sense derives from use of this term in Chinese as a translation of Sanskrit प्रज्ञप्ति (prajñapti, “appointing → provisional naming”), used in some Buddhist schools to refer to the practice of conceptualising and naming things that are not real.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [ke̞mʲo̞ː]
(Tokyo) けみょー [kèmyóó] (Heiban – [0])^[2]

Noun

仮(け)名(みょう) • (kemyō) ^{←けみやう (kemyau)^?}

pseudonym, alias, sobriquet, pen name
in feudal Japan, a public name given to boys upon coming of age, after which their birth names would be kept private
a provisional name given to someone when the real name is unknown: compare English Jane Doe, John Doe
(Buddhism) the conceptualisation and provisional naming of things that are not real; something so named

Synonyms

(pseudonym): 変(へん)名(めい) (henmei): changed name; 偽(ぎ)名(めい) (gimei): false name
(public name): 呼(よ)び名(な) (yobina): calling or addressing name; 通(つう)称(しょう) (tsūshō): common appellation; 俗(ぞく)称(しょう) (zokushō): popular or everyday appellation

Antonyms

(antonym(s) of “alias”): 実(じつ)名(めい) (jitsumei): actual name; 本(ほん)名(みょう) (honmyō): real name
(antonym(s) of “public name”): 実(じつ)名(めい) (jitsumei): actual name; 諱(いみな) (imina): real name

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

“仮名”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026
Doi, Tadao (1603–1604), Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1980, →ISBN.

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 3.0 ^3.1 NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[SMK5-4] 4.0 ^4.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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