黄砂

See also: 黃砂

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 黄砂 – see 黃沙 (“yellow sand; loess; Asian Dust; etc.”). (This term is the simplified form of 黃砂, which is in turn a variant form of 黃沙).

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia, and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

Japanese

Etymology 1

黄砂: Kyōto, spring 2010, with the skies full of yellow sand (Asian Dust).

The Taklamakan Desert, source of the Asian Dust.

Kanji in this term
黄	砂
こう Grade: 2	さ Grade: 6
on'yomi

Alternative spellings
黃砂 (kyūjitai) 黄沙

From Middle Chinese compound 黃砂 (MC hwang srae, “yellow sand”). Compare modern Mandarin 黃砂／黄砂.

Kan'on reading of both characters, suggesting a later borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [ko̞ːsa̠]
• (Tokyo) こーさ [kóꜜòsà] (Atamadaka – [1])

Noun

黄(こう)砂(さ) • (kōsa) ^{←くわうさ (kwausa)?}

1. yellow sand
2. loess
3. (figurative) a desert
4. Asian Dust
5. (figurative) a gaol (UK), jail (US), prison

Synonyms

• (desert): 砂漠 (さばく, ​sabaku)
• (prison, jail, gaol): 牢獄 (ろうごく, ​rōgoku)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
黄	砂
おう Grade: 2	さ Grade: 6
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
黃砂 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese. Goon reading of first character, kan'on reading of second, suggesting an alteration in Japan after the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞ːsa̠]

Noun

黄(おう)砂(さ) • (ōsa) ^{←わうさ (wausa)?} (rare)

1. (see kōsa reading above)

References

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