亜細亜

See also: 亞細亞 and 亚细亚

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
亜	細	亜
あ Grade: S (ateji)	じ Grade: 2 (ateji)	あ Grade: S (ateji)
kan'on	irregular	kan'on

Alternative spelling
亞細亞 (kyūjitai)

Ateji (当(あ)て字(じ)), from Chinese 亞細亞 / 亚细亚 (Yàxìyà).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) アジア [áꜜjìà] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [a̠ʑia̠]

Proper noun

亜細亜(アジア) • (Ajia) 

1. dated spelling of アジア (Ajia):
   1. Asia (the largest continent, located between Europe and the Pacific Ocean)
   2. (historical) Asia (an ancient province of the Roman Empire in western Anatolia, existing between 133 BC (during the Roman Republic) and the 7th century AD)

Usage notes

Normally written in katakana in modern Japanese; the abbreviation 亜 is common.

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
亜	細	亜
あ Grade: S (ateji)	じ Grade: 2 (ateji)	や Grade: S (ateji)
kan'on	irregular	irregular

Alternative spelling
亞細亞 (kyūjitai)

ateji (当(あ)て字(じ)), from Chinese 亞細亞 / 亚细亚 (Yàxìyà).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [a̠ʑija̠]

Proper noun

亜細亜(アジヤ) • (Ajiya) 

1. (obsolete) alternative spelling of アジヤ (Ajiya): Asia (the largest continent, located between Europe and the Pacific Ocean)

References

• “〈亜細亜〉”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026