馳走

Japanese

Kanji in this term
馳	走
ち Jinmeiyō	そう Grade: 2
kan’on

Etymology

Uncertain. May be from unattested Middle Chinese 馳走 (MC drje tsuwX|tsuwH, “rushing, galloping + running”), or may have been coined in Japanese from Middle Chinese-derived roots as a compound of 馳 (chi, “hurrying, rushing”) +‎ 走 (sō, “running”). Compare Korean 치주 (chiju, “running and going”).

First attested in a text from 1096.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ちそー [chìsóó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕi̥so̞ː]

Noun

馳(ち)走(そう) • (chisō) 

1. [from 1096] (archaic) running around

   Synonyms: 奔走 (honsō), 走り回り (hashiri-mawari)

2. [from 1114] (archaic) (by extension, from running around for someone else) looking after someone or something, taking care of someone or something

   Synonym: 世話 (sewa)

3. [from circa 1608] (by extension, from running around making preparations) hospitality, particularly: an entertainment, a banquet, a feast, treating someone to a meal

   ご馳走様(ちそうさま)でした

   go-chisō-sama deshita

   it was delicious (a stock phrase required by Japanese etiquette, literally “it was a feast”)

Verb

馳(ち)走(そう)する • (chisō suru) suru (stem 馳(ち)走(そう)し (chisō shi), past 馳(ち)走(そう)した (chisō shita))

1. [from 1096] (archaic) to run around

   Synonyms: 奔走する (honsō suru), 走り回る (hashiri-mawaru)

2. [from 1114] (archaic) (by extension, from running around for someone else) to look after someone or something, to take care of someone or something

   Synonyms: 世話をする (sewa o suru), 面倒を見る (mendō o miru)

3. [from circa 1608] (by extension, from running around making preparations) to provide entertainment, to host a banquet or feast, to treat someone to a meal

   馳(ち)走(そう)されてありがとう。

   Chisō sarete arigatō.

   Thanks for treating me (to a meal).

Conjugation

Conjugation of "馳走する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective")	馳走し	ちそうし	chisō shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative")	馳走し	ちそうし	chisō shi
Shūshikei ("terminal")	馳走する	ちそうする	chisō suru
Rentaikei ("attributive")	馳走する	ちそうする	chisō suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical")	馳走すれ	ちそうすれ	chisō sure
Meireikei ("imperative")	馳走せよ¹ 馳走しろ²	ちそうせよ¹ ちそうしろ²	chisō seyo¹ chisō shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	馳走される	ちそうされる	chisō sareru
Causative	馳走させる 馳走さす	ちそうさせる ちそうさす	chisō saseru chisō sasu
Potential	馳走できる	ちそうできる	chisō dekiru
Volitional	馳走しよう	ちそうしよう	chisō shiyō
Negative	馳走しない	ちそうしない	chisō shinai
Negative continuative	馳走せず	ちそうせず	chisō sezu
Formal	馳走します	ちそうします	chisō shimasu
Perfective	馳走した	ちそうした	chisō shita
Conjunctive	馳走して	ちそうして	chisō shite
Hypothetical conditional	馳走すれば	ちそうすれば	chisō sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

References

• Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN