大阪

See also: 大坂

Chinese

	big; great; huge big; great; huge; large; major; wide; deep; oldest; eldest; doctor	a slope; hillside
trad. (大阪)	大	阪
simp. ^#(大阪)	大	阪
alternative forms	大坂

Chinese Wikipedia has an article on:

大阪

Wikipedia ^zh

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Pinyin): Dàbǎn

(Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˋ ㄅㄢˇ
Cantonese (Jyutping): daai⁶ baan²
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): Tāi-pán
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶da-pe₅

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: Dàbǎn
  - Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˋ ㄅㄢˇ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: Dàbǎn
  - Wade–Giles: Ta⁴-pan³
  - Yale: Dà-bǎn
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Dahbaan
  - Palladius: Дабань (Dabanʹ)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä⁵¹ pän²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: daai⁶ baan²
  - Yale: daaih báan
  - Cantonese Pinyin: daai⁶ baan²
  - Guangdong Romanization: dai⁶ ban²
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /taːi̯²² paːn³⁵/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tāi-pán
  - Tâi-lô: Tāi-pán
  - Phofsit Daibuun: daixparn
  - Sinological IPA (Xiamen): /tai²²⁻²¹ pan⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Quanzhou): /tai⁴¹⁻²² pan⁵⁵⁴/
  - Sinological IPA (Zhangzhou): /tai²²⁻²¹ pan⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Taipei): /tai³³⁻¹¹ pan⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Kaohsiung): /tai³³⁻²¹ pan⁴¹/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶da-pe₅
  - MiniDict: da^去 pe^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³da-pe₂
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /da²² pe⁴⁴/

Etymology 1

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 大阪(おおさか) (ōsaka), formerly commonly written 大坂(おおさか) (ōsaka). The ultimate etymology is uncertain. The name originally referred to the northern end of the 上町台地, and early sources variously write it 大坂, 小坂 and 尾坂, apparently with the older pronunciation Osaka rather than modern Ōsaka.^[1] 坂 (saka, “slope”) probably refers to the local terrain; 小 (wo, “small”) and 尾 (wo, “tail; end of a ridge”) have both been proposed as interpretations of the first element, the latter possibly referring to the projecting end of the plateau.

The spelling 大坂 is securely attested in 1498 in 蓮如's 御文章, and became dominant with the rise of 石山本願寺 and later 大坂城. 大阪 was already used alongside 大坂 during the 江戸時代; after the establishment of 大阪府 in 1868, it gradually became standard by around the late 1870s.^[1]^[2]

Proper noun

大阪

(～市) Osaka (the capital city of Osaka Prefecture, Japan)
(～府) Osaka (a prefecture on the island of Honshu, Japan)
an orthographic borrowing of the Japanese surname 大阪・大坂, Ōsaka; or of 大阪・大坂, Ōzaka

Descendants

→ Xibe: ᡩᠠ
ᠪᠠᠨ (da ban)

Etymology 2

Noun

大阪

(Classical) great hill; great mountain; great slope
- 天水有大坂，名隴山 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  天水有大坂，名陇山 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: 《太平御覽》
  Tiānshuǐ yǒu dàbǎn, míng Lǒng Shān [Pinyin]
  Tianshui has a great hill, called Mount Long.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 “市名　市章　市歌　市の花　市政”, in 大阪市‎^[1] (in Japanese), 9 February 2026, archived from the original on 7 August 2026
^ “「大坂」はいつ頃から「大阪」になったのか。またその理由は何か。”, in レファレンス協同データベース‎^[2] (in Japanese), 国立国会図書館, 7 August 2026 (last accessed), archived from the original on 8 September 2026

Japanese

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

大阪

Wikipedia ^ja

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
大	阪
おお Grade: 1	さか Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
大坂 (obsolete)

Compound of 大(おお) (ō, “large, great”) + 阪(さか) (saka, “hill”). The geographical area was historically known as 小坂 (Wosaka → Osaka, literally “little hill”) and was renamed to mean literally a “large hill”. ^[1]^[2]

Originally spelled as 大坂 until the early Meiji period, possibly for some superstitious reason.

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [o̞ːsa̠ka̠]
Audio: (file)
(Tokyo) おおさか [òósáká] (Heiban – [0])^[3]^[4]^[5]

(Kyōto) おおさか [óósáká] (Kōki – [0])^[4]^[5]

Proper noun

大(おお)阪(さか) • (Ōsaka) ^{←おほさか (Ofosaka)^?}

a placename, especially:
1. short for 大阪府 (Ōsaka-fu): a prefecture in the Kinki region of Japan facing the Seto Inland Sea
2. short for 大阪市 (Ōsaka-shi): the capital city of Osaka Prefecture, Japan
a surname

Derived terms

大(おお)阪(さか)浅(あさ)漬(づ)け (Ōsaka asazuke)
大(おお)阪(さか)切(き)り漬(づ)け (Ōsaka kirizuke)
大(おお)阪(さか)港(こう) (Ōsaka-kō)
大(おお)阪(さか)狭(さ)山(やま) (Ōsakasayama)
大(おお)阪(さか)事(じ)件(けん) (Ōsaka jiken)
大(おお)阪(さか)人(じん) (Ōsaka-jin)
大(おお)阪(さか)城(じょう) (Ōsaka-jō)
大(おお)阪(さか)証(しょう)券(けん)取(とり)引(ひき)所(じょ) (Ōsaka shōken torihikijo)
大(おお)阪(さか)鮨(ずし) (Ōsaka-zushi)
大(おお)阪(さか)相撲(ずもう) (Ōsaka-zumō)
大(おお)阪(さか)都(と) (Ōsaka-to)
大(おお)阪(さか)撫(なでし)子(こ) (Ōsaka nadeshiko)
大(おお)阪(さか)俄(にわか) (Ōsaka niwaka)
大(おお)阪(さか)場(ば)所(しょ) (Ōsaka basho)
大(おお)阪(さか)平(へい)野(や) (Ōsaka heiya)
大(おお)阪(さか)弁(べん) (Ōsaka-ben)
大(おお)阪(さか)落(らく)語(ご) (Ōsaka rakugo)
大(おお)阪(さか)-湾(わん) (Ōsaka-wan)
東(ひがし)大(おお)阪(さか) (Higashiōsaka)

Descendants

→ Arabic: أوساكا
→ Belarusian: Осака (Ósaka)
→ Bulgarian: Осака (Osaka)
→ Greek: Οσάκα (Osáka)
→ English: Osaka
→ Spanish: Osaka
→ Persian: اوساکا
→ French: Osaka
→ Hebrew: אוסקה
→ Hindi: ओसाका (osākā)
→ Italian: Osaka
→ Korean: 오사카 (Osaka)
→ Kyrgyz: Осака (Osaka)
→ Polish: Osaka
→ Portuguese: Osaca
→ Russian: Осака (Osaka)
→ Thai: โอซากะ (oo-saa-gà)
→ Tagalog: Osaka
→ Ukrainian: Осака (Osaka)
→ Urdu: اوساکا (osākā)
→ Chinese: 大阪 (Dàbǎn)
- → Xibe: ᡩᠠ
  ᠪᠠᠨ (da ban)

Idioms

大(おお)阪(さか)の食(く)い倒(だお)れ (Ōsaka no kuidaore)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
大	阪
おお Grade: 1	さか > ざか Grade: 4
kun'yomi

This entry needs quotations to illustrate usage. If you come across any interesting, durably archived quotes, then please add them!

The saka changes to zaka as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [o̞ːza̠ka̠]

Proper noun

大(おお)阪(ざか) • (Ōzaka) ^{←おほざか (Ofozaka)^?}

(obsolete) alternative form of 大阪 (Ōsaka, placename)
- 2021, Todōfuken zukan [Prefectures picture book], page 88:
  
  大(おお)阪(さか)府(ふ)の由(ゆ)来(らい)　古(ふる)くは「おさか」「おおざか」とよばれ、「小(お)坂(さか)」「大(おお)坂(ざか)」から明(めい)治(じ)維(い)新(しん)後(ご)に「大(おお)阪(さか)」となった
  Ōsaka-fu no yurai Furuku wa “Osaka” “Ōzaka” to yobare, “Osaka” “Ōzaka” kara Meiji Ishin-go ni “Ōsaka” to natta
  Osaka prefecture origins: Formerly called “Osaka” [with a short o] or “Ōzaka” and written <小坂> or <大坂>, it became <大阪> [Ōsaka] after the Meiji Restoration
a surname

Coordinate terms

逢(おう)坂(さか) (Ōsaka)
難(なに)波(わ) (Naniwa)

References

^ 大坂城のはじまり　『大坂城全史――歴史と構造の謎を解く』「はじめに」 - 中村博司
^ 浅井建爾『日本の地名がわかる事典』日本実業出版、1998年、→ISBN
^ 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 “大阪”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[3] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here
↑ ^5.0 ^5.1 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 [Nationwide Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

[osaka-name-1] 1.0 ^1.1 “市名　市章　市歌　市の花　市政”, in 大阪市‎^[1] (in Japanese), 9 February 2026, archived from the original on 7 August 2026

[2] “「大坂」はいつ頃から「大阪」になったのか。またその理由は何か。”, in レファレンス協同データベース‎^[2] (in Japanese), 国立国会図書館, 7 August 2026 (last accessed), archived from the original on 8 September 2026

[3] 大坂城のはじまり　『大坂城全史――歴史と構造の謎を解く』「はじめに」 - 中村博司

[4] 浅井建爾『日本の地名がわかる事典』日本実業出版、1998年、→ISBN

[NHK-5] 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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[NKD2-6] 4.0 ^4.1 “大阪”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[3] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here

[ZAJ-7] 5.0 ^5.1 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 [Nationwide Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: Tōkyōdō, →ISBN

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