可愛い

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Japanese[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

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Kanji in this term
可 愛
か
Grade: 5
(ateji) 		あい > わい
Grade: 4
(ateji)
on’yomi irregular

/kawajui/ → /kawaiː/

Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below.[1]

The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当て字), and uses an irregular reading of 愛. The phonological resemblance to Chinese 可愛／可爱 (kě'ài, “lovable”, Mandarin kě'ài, Min Nan khó-ài) is coincidental. Note that the medial -w- here is not an excrescence added between ka (可) and ai (愛), since the word is not formed from these morphemes.

Already realized phonetically as /kawaiː/ by the early 1600s, and possibly found alongside older form kawayui, as seen in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.[2]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "可愛い"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 可愛く かわ​いく
かわい​く 		[kàwáꜜìkù]
[kàwáíꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 可愛い かわい​い [kàwáíꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 可愛い かわい​い [kàwáíꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 可愛くない かわ​いくない
かわい​くない 		[kàwáꜜìkùnàì]
[kàwáíꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 可愛かった かわ​いかった
かわい​かった 		[kàwáꜜìkàttà]
[kàwáíꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 可愛くなかった かわ​いくなかった
かわい​くなかった 		[kàwáꜜìkùnàkàttà]
[kàwáíꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 可愛いです かわい​いです [kàwáíꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 可愛くて かわ​いくて
かわい​くて 		[kàwáꜜìkùtè]
[kàwáíꜜkùtè]
Conditional 可愛ければ かわ​いければ
かわい​ければ 		[kàwáꜜìkèrèbà]
[kàwáíꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective[edit]

可(か)愛(わい)い • (kawaii) ←かはいい (kafaii)?-i (adverbial 可(か)愛(わい)く (kawaiku))

  1. lovable, beloved
    可(か)愛(わい)い子(こ)には旅(たび)をさせよ
    kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
    spare the rod and spoil the child
    (literally, “send your beloved child on a journey”)
  2. cute, adorable
    Synonyms: (Tōhoku, Hokkaido) めんこい, (Tsugaru) めごい
    かわいい子(こ)と付(つ)き合(あ)う
    kawaii ko to tsukiau
    to go out with (date) a cute girl
    食(た)べちゃいたいくらい可愛(かわい)い
    tabechaitai kurai kawaii
    so cute I could just eat you up
Usage notes[edit]

Often spelled in hiragana.

Inflection[edit]
Inflection of 可愛い
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 可愛かろ かわいかろ kawaikaro
Continuative (連用形) 可愛く かわいく kawaiku
Terminal (終止形) 可愛い かわいい kawaii
Attributive (連体形) 可愛い かわいい kawaii
Hypothetical (仮定形) 可愛けれ かわいけれ kawaikere
Imperative (命令形) 可愛かれ かわいかれ kawaikare
Key constructions
Informal negative 可愛くない かわいくない kawaiku nai
Informal past 可愛かった かわいかった kawaikatta
Informal negative past 可愛くなかった かわいくなかった kawaiku nakatta
Formal 可愛いです かわいいです kawaii desu
Formal negative 可愛くないです かわいくないです kawaiku nai desu
Formal past 可愛かったです かわいかったです kawaikatta desu
Formal negative past 可愛くなかったです かわいくなかったです kawaiku nakatta desu
Conjunctive 可愛くて かわいくて kawaikute
Conditional 可愛ければ かわいければ kawaikereba
Provisional 可愛かったら かわいかったら kawaikattara
Volitional 可愛かろう かわいかろう kawaikarō
Adverbial 可愛く かわいく kawaiku
Degree 可愛さ かわいさ kawaisa
Derived terms[edit]
Derived terms

Etymology 2[edit]

Kanji in this term
可 愛
かわゆ
Grade: 5 Grade: 4
jukujikun

From classical Japanese /kawo hajuɕi/ → /kawajui/.

A contraction of classical 顔映し (kawahayushi, “embarrassing, shameful”). The meaning evolved from shameful to evoking pity, to evoking compassion, and then to lovable.[1] The kanji spelling appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓), from the above reading. Compare Korean 예쁘다 (yeppeu-da), which originally meant poor (as in "poor, poor kid") but now means pretty.

Pronunciation[edit]

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Adjective[edit]

可愛(かわゆ)い • (kawayui) ←かはゆい (kafayui)?-i (adverbial 可愛(かわゆ)く (kawayuku))

  1. embarrassed, having a guilty conscience: see 顔映し (kawahayushi).
  2. (obsolete) pitiable, pitiful
    • 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
      Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij.
      (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.
      Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij.
      (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
  3. lovable, adorable, cute
Inflection[edit]
Inflection of 可愛い
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 可愛かろ かわゆかろ kawayukaro
Continuative (連用形) 可愛く かわゆく kawayuku
Terminal (終止形) 可愛い かわゆい kawayui
Attributive (連体形) 可愛い かわゆい kawayui
Hypothetical (仮定形) 可愛けれ かわゆけれ kawayukere
Imperative (命令形) 可愛かれ かわゆかれ kawayukare
Key constructions
Informal negative 可愛くない かわゆくない kawayuku nai
Informal past 可愛かった かわゆかった kawayukatta
Informal negative past 可愛くなかった かわゆくなかった kawayuku nakatta
Formal 可愛いです かわゆいです kawayui desu
Formal negative 可愛くないです かわゆくないです kawayuku nai desu
Formal past 可愛かったです かわゆかったです kawayukatta desu
Formal negative past 可愛くなかったです かわゆくなかったです kawayuku nakatta desu
Conjunctive 可愛くて かわゆくて kawayukute
Conditional 可愛ければ かわゆければ kawayukereba
Provisional 可愛かったら かわゆかったら kawayukattara
Volitional 可愛かろう かわゆかろう kawayukarō
Adverbial 可愛く かわゆく kawayuku
Degree 可愛さ かわゆさ kawayusa

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  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
  2. ^ 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ^ 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), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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