對馬

Chinese

		phonetic
trad. (對馬)		對	馬
simp. (对马)		对	马

Etymology

First attested in the Records of the Three Kingdoms as 對馬／对马 (Duìmǎ), and in the Book of Sui as 都斯麻 (MC *to sie mae).

始渡一海，千餘里至對馬國。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

---

始渡一海，千余里至对马国。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: Chen Shou, Records of the Three Kingdoms, circa 3^rd century CE

Shǐ dù yī hǎi, qiān yú lǐ zhì Duìmǎguó. [Pinyin]

[They] first cross a sea, [and after] over a thousand li, reach Tsushima Country.

南望聃羅國，經都斯麻國，迥在大海中。 [Literary Chinese, trad.]

---

南望聃罗国，经都斯麻国，迥在大海中。 [Literary Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Sui, 636 CE

Nán wàng Dānluóguó, jīng Dōusīmáguó, jiǒng zài dàhǎi zhōng. [Pinyin]

Looking south toward the state of Tamna, passing through Tsushima Country, far out in the vast ocean.

Pulleyblank (1962: part II, p218) proposes that the character 對／对 once ended in -s during the Old Chinese period, and that this is responsible for the usage of 對／对 in the placename.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): Duìmǎ

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄇㄚˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): deoi³ maa⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: Duìmǎ
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄨㄟˋ ㄇㄚˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: Duèimǎ
    • Wade–Giles: Tui⁴-ma³
    • Yale: Dwèi-mǎ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: Dueymaa
    • Palladius: Дуйма (Dujma)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tu̯eɪ̯⁵¹ mä²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: deoi³ maa⁵
    • Yale: deui máh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: doey³ maa⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: dêu³ ma⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tɵy̯³³ maː¹³/

Proper noun

對馬

1. (～島) Tsushima Island (an island of Tsushima, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan)
2. (～市) Tsushima (a city in Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan)
3. an orthographic borrowing of the Japanese surname 対馬, Tsushima

Synonyms

• 鳳馬 / 凤马 (Fèngmǎ) (historical)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
對	馬
つし Hyōgai	ま Grade: 2
irregular

For pronunciation and definitions of 對馬 – see the following entry.

【対馬つしま】 [proper noun] Tsushima (an island of Japan) [proper noun] a surname

(This term, 對馬, is the kyūjitai of the above term.)