用ひる

Japanese

Kanji in this term
用
もち Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Etymology

First attested in texts around the Kamakura period, persisting until around the script reforms in the 1920s.

The attestable root verb is 用ゐる (mochiwiru), itself a compound (see that entry for details). During the mid-Heian period, medial /-f-/ sounds shifted to /-w-/, leading to confusion between mid-word ゐ (wi) and ひ (wi, read as fi in word-initial position). The もちひる (mochiwiru) hiragana spelling was then reinterpreted as a conjugation of base verb もちふ (mochi(w)u), which appears as a back-formation. Later during the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, sound changes reduced medial /-w-/ still further, such that /wi/ merged into /i/. The resulting shift in the verb ending from -wiru to -iru was reinterpreted again as a conjugation of base form もちゆ (mochiyu), which again appears as a back-formation.

Verb

用ひ(もちい)る • (mochīru) ^{←もちひる (motifiru)?}transitive ichidan (stem 用ひ(もちい) (mochī), past 用ひ(もちい)た (mochīta))

1. (archaic, historical, rare) alternative spelling of 用いる (mochiiru), historical 用ゐる (mochiwiru): to use
   • 1940s, Hajime Kawakami, Pillow up in the floating clouds (text here)

     室(しつ)内(ない)の歩(ほ)行(かう)に杖(つゑ)を用(もち)ひず、階(かい)上(じやう)への上(のぼ)り下(くだ)りにも、さまで脚(あし)のだるきを感(かん)ぜず。

     Shitsunai no hokō ni tsue o mochiizu, kaijō e no noborikudari ni mo, sama de ashi no daruki o kanzezu.

     (please add an English translation of this example)

   • 1946, The Constitution of Japan, Article 29:

     私(し)有(ゆう)財(ざい)產(さん)は、正(せい)當(とう)な補(ほ)償(しょう)の下(もと)に、これを公(こう)共(きょう)のために用(もち)ひることができる。

     Shiyūzaisan wa, seitō na hoshō no moto ni, kore o kōkyō no tame ni mochiiru koto ga dekiru.

     Private property may be taken for public use upon just compensation therefor.

Conjugation

Classical conjugation of "用ひる" (ハ行上一段活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	用ひ	もちひ	motifi
Continuative (連用形)	用ひ	もちひ	motifi
Terminal (終止形)	用ひる	もちひる	motifiru
Attributive (連体形)	用ひる	もちひる	motifiru
Realis (已然形)	用ひれ	もちひれ	motifire
Imperative (命令形)	用ひよ	もちひよ	motifiyo
Key constructions
Negative	用ひず	もちひず	motifizu
Contrasting conjunction	用ひれど	もちひれど	motifiredo
Causal conjunction	用ひれば	もちひれば	motifireba
Conditional conjunction	用ひば	もちひば	motifiba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	用ひき	もちひき	motifiki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	用ひけり	もちひけり	motifikeri
Perfect tense (conscious action)	用ひつ	もちひつ	motifitu
Perfect tense (natural event)	用ひぬ	もちひぬ	motifinu
Perfect-continuative tense	用ひたり	もちひたり	motifitari
Volitional	用ひむ	もちひむ	motifimu

See also

• 用(もち)ふ (mochiu)
• 用(もち)ゆ (mochiyu)