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U+3070, ば
HIRAGANA LETTER BA
Composition: [U+306F] + ◌゙ [U+3099]

[U+306F]
Hiragana
[U+3071]

Japanese

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Stroke order
5 strokes

Etymology 1

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The hiragana character (ha) with a dakuten ().

Pronunciation

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Syllable

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(ba

  1. The hiragana syllable (ba). Its equivalent in katakana is (ba).
See also
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Etymology 2

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From Old Japanese. Appears in the Man'yōshū, completed 759 CE.[1]

Originally an extension of the topic particle (wa),[2] for which the Old Japanese pronunciation is reconstructed as */pa/. The pa changes to ba as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

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Particle

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(-ba

  1. In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the mizenkei, to express the hypothetical condition: if
    (あめ)()(えん)(そく)(ちゅう)()する。
    Ame ga fureba ensoku o chūshi suru.
    If it rains, we will suspend our trip.
    (いそ)(まわ)isogaba mawareIf you rush, you'll go round → more haste, less speed
  2. In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the izenkei, to express the precondition for something to happen: if; when
    (あめ)()(みち)()れる。
    Ame ga fureba michi ga nureru.
    The road gets wet when it rains.
    • c. late 9th–mid-10th century, Taketori Monogatari
      それを()(さん)(すん)ばかりなる(ひと)いと(うつく)しうて()たり。
      Sore o mireba, sansun bakari naru hito ito utsukushūte itari.
      When he looked at it, there sat a very lovely human being about three sun long.
    • 2007, “キラメキラリ”, in yura [yura] (lyrics), 神前暁 (music), THE IDOLM@STER MASTER ARTIST 02 高槻やよい:
      ()(ちゅう)から()()(きゅう)(なが)(ぼし)
      uchū kara mireba chikyū mo nagareboshi
      If you see from the universe the earth is also a shooting star
  3. In the form …ば…ほど (… ba … hodo): the more …, the more
    (まな)(まな)ぶほど、(なに)()らなかった(こと)()づく
    Manabeba manabu hodo, nani mo shiranakatta koto ni kizuku
    The more I learned, the more I felt I didn't know anything.
  4. Links sentences parallel in meaning. The sentences usually incorporate a (mo):and
    ()(ほん)()もできれ(えい)()もできる
    nihongo mo dekireba eigo mo dekiru
    to be able to speak both Japanese and English
  5. (archaic) In the form mizenkei + (ba) + meireikei on the same verb: it doesn't matter if …; may as well
    ()()shinaba shineI might as well die.
  6. (archaic) In Modern Japanese, attaches to the kateikei, and in Classical Japanese, attaches to the izenkei, to express the reason or cause: because; as
    (あめ)()(うん)(どう)(かい)(ちゅう)()せり。
    Ame fureba undōkai wa chūshi seri.
    The sports meeting is suspended due to rain.
    • 1901, 慶應義塾, 修身要領
      (けっ)(こん)(じん)(せい)(じゅう)(だい)()なれ(はい)(ぐう)(せん)(たく)(もっと)(しん)(ちょう)ならざる(べか)らず
      kekkon wa jinsei no jūdaiji nareba haigū no sentaku wa motto mo shinchō narazaru bekarazu
      Since marriage is a major event in life, the choice of a spouse has to be the most cautious.
    • 1904, 芳賀矢一, 中等教科明治文典:
      (だい)(ろく)(かつ)(よう)(けい)の「()ね」は(めい)(れい)をいふときに(もち)ゐる(かたち)なれ(めい)(れい)(けい)といふ。
      Dairoku katsuyōkei no “shine” wa meirei o iu toki ni mochiiru katachi nareba meireikei to iu.
      The sixth conjugated form shine is the form used when expressing a command, so it's called the imperative form.
Usage notes
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Classical Japanese Modern Japanese
Hypothetical condition ("if, suppose that") 未然形 (mizenkei) + ば 仮定形 (kateikei) + ば
Precondition ("if, provided that, when, whenever") 已然形 (izenkei) + ば 仮定形 (kateikei) + ば
Reason or cause ("since, as, because") 已然形 (izenkei) + ば -

This word is morphologically an inflectional suffix. It is classified as 助詞 (jodōshi, auxiliary word; particle) in traditional Japanese grammar.

Synonyms
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Etymology 3

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For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entry.
2
[noun] [from 1275] a place
[noun] [from 1701] a situation, the circumstances of a particular place and time
[noun] [from 1825] an act, a section of a play
[noun] [from 1888] (physics) a field
[noun] [from 1893] a trading floor, as in a market or exchange
[counter] [from 1825] an act, a section of a play
(This term, (ba), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as , see Category:Japanese kanji read as ば.)

Etymology 4

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For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entries.
2
[affix] horse
S
[affix] old woman, crone
[affix] Used in Sanskrit transliterations
S
[affix] abuse; insult
(This term, (ba), is the hiragana spelling of the above terms.)
For a list of all kanji read as , see Category:Japanese kanji read as ば.)

Etymology 5

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Contraction of をば (o ba), itself composed of the object particle (o) + contrastive and emphatic particle (wa), which voices to (ba) due to rendaku (連濁).[3][4]

First cited to a text from the early 1800s.[3]

Pronunciation

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Particle

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(ba

  1. [from early 1800s] (dialectal, Kyūshū)[5] object marker
    Synonym: (standard Japanese) (o)
Usage notes
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May be encountered more commonly where the portion before the particle ends in an /o/ sound or the nasal (n), phonological contexts where the /o/ sound of the particle (o) would be expected to contract.

References

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  1. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  4. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  5. ^ Kitahara, Yasuo, editor (2010), 明鏡国語辞典 [Meikyō Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Taishūkan Shoten, →ISBN