可愛い
Japanese
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
可 | 愛 |
か Grade: 5 |
あい > わい Grade: 4 |
on'yomi | jukujikun |
/kawajui/ → /kawaiː/
Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below.[1]
The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当て字) and jukujikun (熟字訓), 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]
Pronunciation
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- 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
可愛い • (kawaii) ←かはいい (kafaii)?-i (adverbial 可愛く (kawaiku))
- lovable, beloved
- 可愛い子には旅をさせよ
- kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
- spare the rod and spoil the child
- (literally, “send your beloved child on a journey”)
- 可愛い子には旅をさせよ
- cute, adorable
- 2003 September 22, Akinobu Uraku, “第63話 幼い記憶 [Chapter 63: Childish Memories]”, in 東京アンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 11 (fiction), Square Enix, →ISBN, page 99:
- 暴れなきゃ可愛い顔なんだよな
- Abarenakya kawaii kao nan da yo na
- Her face when she’s not mad is actually pretty cute
- 暴れなきゃ可愛い顔なんだよな
Inflection
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 |
Usage notes
Often spelled in hiragana.
Derived terms
Etymology 2
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/kahahajushi/ → /kahajushi/ → /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
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Adjective
可愛い • (kawayui) ←かはゆい (kafayui)?-i (adverbial 可愛く (kawayuku))
- embarrassed, having a guilty conscience: see 顔映し (kawahayushi).
- (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.
- 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
- lovable, adorable, cute
Inflection
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 |
References
- ↑ 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
- ^ 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.
- Japanese terms spelled with 可 read as か
- Japanese terms spelled with ateji
- Japanese terms spelled with jukujikun
- Japanese terms derived from Chinese
- Japanese lemmas
- Japanese adjectives
- Japanese terms with multiple readings
- Japanese い-i adjectives
- Japanese terms spelled with fifth grade kanji
- Japanese terms spelled with fourth grade kanji
- Japanese terms with 2 kanji
- Japanese terms with usage examples
- Japanese terms with obsolete senses