User talk:Lemonsquash

ki

Hello, may I ask you a question? Years ago, when a friend of mine was teaching me the rules of the game of go, he told me that its alternative name in Japanese is ki. Was he right? Neither WT nor WP confirm this. (Or is it just a shortened form of the Chinese word wéiqí mentioned in WP?) ---Duncan MacCall 22:51, 21 November 2008 (UTC)

That's right.

"碁" has two pronunciations for Japanese.

1. go
2. ki

"碁" is a variant form of a letter of "棋". And "棋" is included in "将棋"(shogi) and "圍棋"(wéiqí).

"棋" has some pronunciations for Japanese.

1. go

   a game of go. "碁" is chiefly used now.

2. ki

   board game ( a game of go , shogi , wéiqí, chess , etc. )

It is rare to use the word "棋" alone. It composes the word now. For example.

1. 棋譜 (hiragana きふ, romaji kifu) a record of a game of go or shogi.
2. 棋士 (hiragana きし, romaji kishi) a player of a game of go or shogi.

almost "棋" can change "碁". However, there is hardly use.

1. 碁譜 (hiragana きふ or ごふ, romaji kifu or gofu) a record of a game of go.
2. 碁士 (hiragana きし or ごし, romaji kishi or goshi) a player of a game of go.

--Lemonsquash 21:13, 22 November 2008 (UTC)

I see. Thank you a lot. --Duncan MacCall 22:28, 22 November 2008 (UTC)