Sino-Japanese vocabulary

Sino-Japanese vocabulary, also known as kango (Japanese: 漢語, pronounced [kaŋɡo], "Han words"), is a subset of Japanese vocabulary that originated in Chinese or was created from elements borrowed from Chinese. Some grammatical structures and sentence patterns can also be identified as Sino-Japanese.

Kango is one of three broad categories into which the Japanese vocabulary is divided. The others are native Japanese vocabulary (yamato kotoba) and borrowings from other, mainly Western languages (gairaigo). It has been estimated that about 60% of the words contained in modern Japanese dictionaries are kango,[1] and that about 18–20% of words used in common speech are kango.[a] The usage of such kango words also increases in formal or literary contexts, and in expressions of abstract or complex ideas.[2]

Kango, the use of Chinese-derived words in Japanese, is to be distinguished from kanbun, which is historical Literary Chinese written by Japanese in Japan. Both kango in modern Japanese and classical kanbun have Sino-xenic linguistic and phonetic elements also found in Korean and Vietnamese: that is, they are "Sino-foreign", meaning that they are not pure Chinese but have been mixed with the native languages of their respective nations. Such words invented in Japanese, often with novel meanings, are called wasei-kango. Many of them were created during the Meiji Restoration to translate non-Asian concepts and have been reborrowed into Chinese.

Kango is also to be distinguished from gairaigo of Chinese origin, namely words borrowed from modern Chinese dialects, some of which may be occasionally spelled with Chinese characters or kanji just like kango. For example, 北京 (Pekin, "Beijing") which was borrowed from a modern Chinese dialect, is not kango, whereas 北京 (Hokkyō, "Northern Capital", a name for Kyoto), which was created with Chinese elements, is kango.

Backgroundedit

Ancient China's enormous political and economic influence in the region had a deep effect on Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and other Asian languages in East and Southeast Asia throughout history, in a manner somewhat similar to the preeminent position that Greek and Latin had in European history. For example, the Middle Chinese word for gunpowder, Chinese: 火藥 (IPA: [xwa˧˥jak]),[3] is rendered as hwayak in Korean, and as kayaku in Japanese. At the time of their first contact, the existing Japanese language had no writing system, while the Chinese had a written language and a great deal of academic and scientific information, providing new concepts along with Chinese words to express them. Chinese became the language of science, learning, religion and government. The earliest written language to be used in Japan was literary Chinese, which has come to be called kanbun in this context. The kanbun writing system essentially required every literate Japanese to be competent in written Chinese, although it is unlikely that many Japanese people were then fluent in spoken Chinese. Chinese pronunciation was approximated in words borrowed from Chinese into Japanese; this Sino-Japanese vocabulary is still an important component of the Japanese language, and may be compared to words of Latin or Greek origin in English.

Chinese borrowings also significantly impacted Japanese phonology, leading to many new developments such as closed syllables (CV(N), not just CV) and length becoming a phonetic feature with the development of both long vowels and long consonants. (See Early Middle Japanese: Phonological developments for details.)

Grammaredit

Sino-Japanese words are almost exclusively nouns, of which many are verbal nouns or adjectival nouns, meaning that they can act as verbs or adjectives. Verbal nouns can be used as verbs by appending suru (する, "do") (e.g. benkyō suru (勉強する, do studying; study)), while an adjectival noun uses -na (〜な) instead of -no (〜の) (usual for nouns) when acting attributively.

In Japanese, verbs and adjectives (that is, inflecting adjectives) are closed classes, and despite the large number of borrowings from Chinese, virtually none of these became inflecting verbs or adjectives, instead being conjugated periphrastically as above.

In addition to the basic verbal noun + suru form, verbal nouns with a single-character root often experienced sound changes, such as -suru (〜する)-zuru (〜ずる)-jiru (〜じる), as in kinjiru (禁じる, forbid), and some cases where the stem underwent a sound change, as in tassuru (達する, reach), from tatsu ().

Sino-Japanese and on'yomiedit

The term kango is usually identified with on'yomi (音読み, "sound reading"), a system of pronouncing Chinese characters in a way that at one point approximated the original Chinese. On'yomi is also known as the 'Sino-Japanese reading', and is opposed to kun'yomi (訓読み, "reading by meaning") under which Chinese characters are assigned to, and read as, native Japanese vocabulary.

However, there are cases where the distinction between on'yomi and kun'yomi does not correspond to etymological origin. Chinese characters created in Japan, called kokuji (国字), normally only have kun'yomi, but some kokuji do have on'yomi. One such character is (as in 働く hataraku, "to work"), which was given the on'yomi (from the on'yomi of its phonetic component, ) when used in compounds with other characters, e.g. in 労働 rōdō ("labor"). Similarly, the character ("gland") has the on'yomi sen (from the on'yomi of its phonetic component, sen "spring, fountain"), e.g. in 扁桃腺 hentōsen "tonsils"; it was intentionally created as a kango and does not have a kun'yomi at all. Although not originating in Chinese, both of these are regarded as 'Sino-Japanese'.

By the same token, that a word is the kun'yomi of a kanji is not a guarantee that the word is native to Japanese. There are a few Japanese words that, although they appear to have originated in borrowings from Chinese, have such a long history in the Japanese language that they are regarded as native and are thus treated as kun'yomi, e.g., uma "horse" and ume. These words are not regarded as belonging to the Sino-Japanese vocabulary.

Words made in Japanedit

While much Sino-Japanese vocabulary was borrowed from Chinese, a considerable amount was created by the Japanese themselves as they coined new words using Sino-Japanese forms. These are known as wasei-kango (和製漢語, Japanese-created kango); compare to wasei-eigo (和製英語, Japanese-created English).

Many Japanese-created kango refer to uniquely Japanese concepts. Examples include daimyō (大名), waka (和歌), haiku (俳句), geisha (芸者), chōnin (町人), matcha (抹茶), sencha (煎茶), washi (和紙), jūdō (柔道), kendō (剣道), Shintō (神道), shōgi (将棋), dōjō (道場), seppuku (切腹), and Bushidō (武士道)

Another miscellaneous group of words were coined from Japanese phrases or crossed over from kun'yomi to on'yomi. Examples include henji (返事 meaning 'reply', from native 返り事 kaerigoto 'reply'), rippuku (立腹 'become angry', based on 腹が立つ hara ga tatsu, literally 'belly/abdomen stands up'), shukka (出火 'fire starts or breaks out', based on 火が出る hi ga deru), and ninja (忍者 from 忍びの者 shinobi-no-mono meaning 'person of stealth'). In Chinese, the same combinations of characters are often meaningless or have a different meaning. Even a humble expression like gohan (ご飯 or 御飯 'cooked rice') is a pseudo-kango and not found in Chinese. One interesting example that gives itself away as a Japanese coinage is kaisatsu-guchi (改札口 literally 'check ticket gate'), meaning the ticket barrier at a railway station.

More recently, the best-known example is the prolific numbers of kango coined during the Meiji era on the model of Classical Chinese to translate modern concepts imported from the West; when coined to translate a foreign term (rather than simply a new Japanese term), they are known as yakugo (訳語, translated word, equivalent). Often they use corresponding morphemes to the original term, and thus qualify as calques. These terms include words for new technology, like 電話 denwa ('telephone'), and words for Western cultural categories which the Sinosphere had no exact analogue of on account of partitioning the semantic fields in question differently, such as 科学 kagaku ('science'), 社会 shakai ('society'), and 哲学 tetsugaku ('philosophy'). While many terms were coined afresh (such as 科学 and 哲学), many were repurposed classical Chinese compounds, whose meanings were tenuously similar to their western counterparts. Here are a few examples:

WordClassical Chinese meaningModern meaning
bunka (文化)teaching of the humanitiesculture
butsuri (物理)workings of thingsphysics
hakushi (博士)imperial academiciandoctor
hikan (悲観)compassionate outlookpessimism
hentai (変態)transformationmetamorphosis; abnormality; lewdness
jiyū (自由)self-determinationfreedom; liberty
kakumei (革命)dynastic changerevolution
kato (過渡)crossing a rivertransition
keizai (経済)governanceeconomy
kyōwa (共和)cooperative harmony; Gonghe Regencynon-monarchical government; republicanism
minshu (民主)monarchrepublican president; republicanism; democracy
mujun (矛盾)(all-breaking) spear and (never-broken) shieldcontradiction
shakai (社会)earth-deity-worshipping communitysociety
soshiki (組織)weaving; formationbiological tissue

Notably, the names of the military ranks used throughout the Sinosphere were neither coined anew nor repurposed from Classical Chinese, but were based on the ranks under the Ritsuryō government. Certain military agencies, such as the Konoefu (近衛府), the Hyōefu (兵衛府) and the Emonfu (衛門府), were headed by officials titled with shō (), sa () and i () (see the Japanese article, 四等官), which later corresponded to "general officer", "senior officer" and "junior officer" in the Imperial Japanese Armed Forces and adopted by other militaries in China, Korea and Vietnam. See the articles for these ranks for more (Ranks of the Imperial Japanese Army, Comparative military ranks of Korea, Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Navy, Ranks of the People's Liberation Army Air Force, Republic of China Armed Forces rank insignia, Vietnamese military ranks and insignia).

Despite resistance from some contemporary Chinese intellectuals, many wasei kango were "back-borrowed" into Chinese around the turn of the 20th century. Such words from that time are thoroughly assimilated into the Chinese lexicon, but translations of foreign concepts between the two languages now occur independently of each other.[4] These "back-borrowings" gave rise to Mandarin diànhuà (from denwa), kēxué (from kagaku), shèhuì (from shakai) and zhéxué (from tetsugaku). Since the sources for the wasei kango included ancient Chinese texts as well as contemporary English-Chinese dictionaries, some of the compounds—including 文化 bunka ('culture', Mandarin wénhuà) and 革命 kakumei ('revolution', Mandarin gémìng)—might have been independently coined by Chinese translators, had Japanese writers not coined them first.[5] A similar process of reborrowing occurred in the modern Greek language, which took back words like τηλεγράφημα telegrafíma ('telegram') that were coined in English from Greek roots.[6] Many of these words have also been borrowed into Korean and Vietnamese, forming (a modern Japanese) part of their Sino-Korean and Sino-Vietnamese vocabularies.

Alongside these translated terms, the foreign word may be directly borrowed as gairaigo. The resulting synonyms have varying use, usually with one or the other being more common. For example, 野球 yakyū and ベースボール bēsubōru both translate as 'baseball', where the yakugo 野球 is more common. By contrast, 庭球 teikyū and テニス tenisu both translate as 'tennis', where the gairaigo テニス is more common. Note that neither of these is a calque – they translate literally as 'field ball' and 'garden ball'. ('Base' is rui, but 塁球 ruikyū is an uncommon term for 'softball', which itself is normally ソフトボール sofutobōru).

Finally, quite a few words appear to be Sino-Japanese but are varied in origin, written with ateji (当て字)— kanji assigned without regard for etymology. In many cases, the characters were chosen only to indicate pronunciation. For example, sewa ('care, concern') is written 世話, using the on'yomi "se" + "wa" ('household/society' + 'talk'); although this word is not Sino-Japanese but a native Japanese word believed to derive from sewashii, meaning 'busy' or 'troublesome'; the written form 世話 is simply an attempt to assign plausible-looking characters pronounced "se" and "wa". Other ateji of this type include 面倒 mendō ('face' + 'fall down' = 'bother, trouble') and 野暮 yabo ('fields' + 'livelihood' = 'uncouth'). (The first gloss after each character roughly translates the kanji; the second is the meaning of the word in Japanese.)

Types of on'yomiedit

On'yomi were originally used in ondoku (音読 "sound reading"), the Japanese system for reading aloud texts in the Middle Chinese (MC) language. A huge number of loanwords entered the Japanese language from Middle Chinese, intermediated by these conventionalized pronunciations. There are different types of on'yomi for Sino-Japanese vocabulary, depending mainly on the time period of borrowing.

Go-on (呉音 "Wu sound") readings represent the first major wave of Chinese borrowing in the 5th and 6th centuries, coinciding with the introduction of Buddhism in Japan. It is not agreed whether Go-on pronunciations are clearly derived from a particular dialect of Middle Chinese. Buddhist teachings along with the Chinese language were largely imported through the Korean peninsula, and it is unclear to what extent this fact influenced the Go-on pronunciations. Certain genres of modern vocabulary largely use Go-on readings, especially words related to Buddhism and law.

Kan-on (漢音 "Han sound") readings were introduced in the 7th through 9th centuries during the Tang dynasty, and are based on the central Chang'an pronunciation of Middle Chinese. While there was a large-scale effort to replace Go-on readings with Kan-on readings when pronouncing Chinese texts in Japan, this effort did not extend to changing the pronunciation of borrowed words that were already used in Japanese.[7] Massive borrowing of Chinese loanwords continued during this period, and these new borrowings reflected the new Kan-on readings. Today, Kan-on readings are the most commonly encountered type of on'yomi.

Kan'yō-on (慣用音 "customary sound") readings are not considered to follow the regular patterns for adapting either Go-on or Kan-on readings, but are commonly encountered in existing Sino-Japanese words. In some cases, the Kan'yō-on reading is in fact a regular development of the original Go or Kan on'yomi in a particular environment. For example, (MC lop) has the Kan'yō-on reading /raQ/ (or /ra/) in all Sino-Japanese words, which is the regular development of earlier /rap(u)/ before a voiceless obstruent. A common irregularity for Kan'yō-on is an unexpected voicing value for an initial obstruent. For example, (MC tʂɛmX) is read in all Sino-Japanese words as /zaN/ rather than the expected Kan-on reading /saN/.

Tō-on/Sō-on (唐音 "Tang sound" or 宋音 "Song sound") readings were introduced mostly from the 12th century onward, during and after the Song dynasty. "Tang" was in this context used to mean "Chinese" (i.e. "real Chinese pronunciation"), with no intended connection to the earlier Tang Dynasty.[7] Due to their more recent borrowing, Tō-on readings are sometimes more recognizably similar to Modern Chinese pronunciations. There are far fewer Sino-Japanese loanwords with Tō-on readings compared to Go-on and Kan-on readings. Dictionaries do not attempt to provide a Tō-on reading for each kanji as many do for Go-on and Kan-on readings.

Go-on and Kan-on readings have a special status when compared with other on'yomi types. Arising initially out of the need to be able to read any Chinese text aloud using ondoku, there is a long-standing practice of providing a Go and Kan reading for every kanji, even those which have never actually been used in borrowed Sino-Japanese vocabulary. The readings which are not actually encountered in Sino-Japanese loanwords were largely codified in the Edo period through the philological study of Chinese rime tables.[8] These readings are given in many dictionaries, though for the less common kanji there is sometimes disagreement between sources.

Correspondences between Middle Chinese and on'yomiedit

All characters used to write Middle Chinese represented a single syllable in the spoken language, made up of an "initial" (a single onset consonant), and a rime (the remainder of the syllable). Originally, the on'yomi for kanji attempted to closely match the Middle Chinese pronunciation for each character, while guided by the possible sounds and structures of Japanese as spoken at the time. In fact a number of new word shapes entered the language to accommodate the large influx of Chinese borrowings. Subsequently, many sound changes took place in Japanese, affecting both borrowed and native vocabulary. As such, on'yomi now often bear little resemblance to their original Middle Chinese source, and are even less similar to the pronunciation of the same characters in modern Chinese languages, which have undergone many changes from Middle Chinese. For example, (MC xjwæŋ) had the Go-on pronunciation [kwjaũ] when it was first borrowed, which subsequently developed to [kjaũ], then [kjau], then [kjɔː], and finally modern Japanese /kyō/ [kjoː].

Onsets (initials)edit

The Early Middle Chinese (EMC) initials have the following regular correspondences in Go and Kan on'yomi.

EMCGoKanEMCGoKanEMCGoKanEMCGoKan
p(h)p>ht(h), ʈ(h)tts(h), tʂ(h), tɕ(h)sk(h)k
bbp>hd, ɖdtdz, dʐ, dʑzsggk
mmb, m[b]n, ɳnd, n[b]ɲnzŋg
s, ʂ, ɕsxk
z, ʑzsɣg, Øk, Ø
lry[c]y, ØʔØ

Aspiration was contrastive in Middle Chinese, but voiceless obstruents were adapted to Go and Kan pronunciations in the same way regardless of aspiration. However, many Kan'yō on'yomi exist with voiced obstruents corresponding to Middle Chinese unaspirated (and sometimes aspirated) voiceless obstruents. For example, (MC kjun) 'army' has the prescribed Go/Kan reading kun, but Kan'yō gun is the only reading actually used in Japanese. There are multiple reasons for the changes from the earlier Go to the later Kan pronunciations. These borrowings were drawn both from different times and different regions of China, and furthermore the Go pronunciations were likely intermediated through Korean Buddhist monks. However, there is little to support the claim that Go-on pronunciations were at the time of their introduction "less accurate" than their later Kan-on counterparts. The discrepancies between the two on'yomi categories are largely due to changes that took place between Early and Late Middle Chinese. The Early Middle Chinese (EMC) voiced obstruents became breathy voiced in Late Middle Chinese, e.g. [b > pɦ]. EMC [ɲ] became [ɻ], later becoming [ʐ] in Northern Chinese dialects. In the Japanese of both time periods, the voiced obstruents were prenasalized as [mb, nd, ndz, ŋg], helping to explain why they correspond to Middle Chinese nasals in Kan on'yomi. The Japanese consonant [p] developed first to [f] or [ɸ], and more recently to /h/ (with allophones [h, ɸ, ç]). Older [p] remains modern Japanese /p/ after the special moras /N/ and /Q/, and as such all /h/-initial on'yomi have regular variants with /p/ in this environment, for example Kan-on /hitu/ 'brush' vs. 鉛筆 /eN.pitu/ 'pencil'.

Rimes (medials and finals)edit

Middle Chinese rimes or "finals" contained a vowel, optional glides before the vowel (sometimes called "medials"), and an optional coda consonant /j, w, m, n, ŋ, p, t, k/— schematically (j)(w)V(C). The precise phonetic realization of the MC vowels is debated, and the set of vowels possible before different coda consonants varies considerably. When borrowed into Japanese, the more complicated MC vowel system was adapted to fit the Japanese five vowel system with /i, e, a, o, u/. MC rimes could begin with a glide /w/, /j/, or both /jw/. The earliest Japanese on'yomi allow the following sequences containing glides:

Historical kana[d] (codified c. 13th century) with glides /y, w/
や, よ, ゆya, yo, yu
きや, きよ, きゆ (etc.)Cya, Cyo, Cyu (C = any consonant)
わ, ゑ, ゐ, をwa, we, wi, wo
くわ, ぐわ, くゑ, ぐゑkwa, gwa, kwe, gwe[e]
Additional "ancient" kana (used even earlier)
𛀁ye[f]
ゐや, くゐや, ぐゐやwya, kwya, gwya[g]
つゐ, づゐ, すゐ, ずゐ, るゐ, くゐ, ぐゐ, ゆゐtwi, dwi, swi, zwi, rwi, kwi, gwi, ywi[h]

All of the /Cy/ and /Cw(y)/ sequences were newly introduced by borrowing from Chinese, though some would later arise in native vocabulary.[9] By the advent of the "historical kana" spellings (13th century, lasting until 1946[10]), the "ancient" kana sequences with /CwyV/ had long before lost their /w/, those with /Cwi/ had become /Cui, ki, gi/, and /ye/ merged with /e/. Later, /w/ was lost everywhere except in the sequence /wa/ with no preceding consonant. The presence of these glides in on'yomi is in some cases not easily predictable, for example 約 (MC ʔjak) has the Go reading yaku, while 央 (MC ʔjaŋ) has the jōyō Go reading ō, with listed as an alternate (but unused) Go reading.

The tables below show the regular correspondences between MC rimes and Japanese on'yomi (Go and Kan readings). The rimes are given in the transcription systems of Bernhard Karlgren, Li Rong, and William Baxter (see Middle Chinese finals for more transcription systems). Examples are given using the MC reconstructions from Karlgren's Grammata Serica Recensa (GSR), with the rimes transcribed using Baxter's system (see Character List for Karlgren's GSR). Japanese on'yomi are given in a phonemic transcription (see Japanese phonology).

Different MC rimes were restricted to following only certain MC initial consonants. Furthermore, the identity of the initial consonant sometimes results in a different regular outcome for the Japanese on'yomi. For the purposes of determining the Japanese on'yomi, the following sets of consonants can be distinguished:

Japanese consonantsMiddle Chinese consonants
Pp>h, b, mp(h), b, m
Tt, dt(h), d, ʈ(h), ɖ
Ss, zts(h), dz, tʂ(h), dʐ, tɕ(h), dʑ, s, z, ɕ, ʑ, ʂ, (y)
Kk, gk(h), g, ŋ, x, ɣ
ØØ (no consonant)ʔ, (y), sometimes ɣ

Developments after the Japanese consonants /r/ (from MC /l/) and /n/ (from MC /n, ɳ, ɲ/) are noted where relevant. The MC onset /y/ (like all palatal onsets) appears only with MC rimes beginning in /j/, and generally patterns in on'yomi with MC /ʔ/ before the same rimes, but sometimes there is a distinction, where /y/ patterns with S. Where one of these five categories (P, T, S, K, Ø) appears in parentheses in the tables below, it refers to the adaptation of the MC rime after these different sets of consonants. Five columns in each table mark whether the given MC rime is found after each of these onset categories. A bullet (•) indicates that Go and Kan on'yomi exist corresponding to the given MC rime after the given onsets. When (~) appears, it indicates that an MC character exists which is expected to provide a relevant Japanese on'yomi, but it either has no identified reading, has on'yomi which are not clearly distinguished as Go vs. Kan, or has multiple MC pronunciations which make it impossible to determine which MC rime the on'yomi correspond to.

While the correspondences between MC rimes and Japanese on'yomi are rather consistent, there exists considerably more irregularity than is represented in these tables. Exceptional pronunciations are often found even for officially recognized Go and Kan readings. Furthermore, many kanji have Kan'yō-on readings, which by definition do not follow the regular correspondences, but appear in established Sino-Japanese words. The illusion of regularity is bolstered by the fact that lexicographers generally provide Go and Kan readings for characters based on their expected outcome, even when these readings are not actually employed in any Japanese word. Out of necessity, many of the examples shown below are of this type. Readings in the jōyō kanji list are highlighted in blue.

Vowel-final rimesedit

These MC rimes have no consonant after the vowel.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on
ɑɑaa pa, ha, ha; ta, ta, ta; tsa(H), sa, sa; ka, ka, ka; ɣa, ga, ka; ʔa, a, a
aaæe
ya (T, S)
aX, me, ba; X, he, ha; mæ, me, ba; , kæ, ke, ka; , ɣæX/H, ge, ka; / ʔæH, e, a
ʈæH, tya, ta; , ʂæ, sya, sa; tʂæH, sya, sa
wa~a
wa>a (K)
wa (Ø)
dwaX/H, da, ta; twaX, ta, ta; dzwaX, za, sa
khwa, kwa>ka, kwa>ka; kwa, kwa>ka, kwa>ka; ŋwaH, gwa>ga, gwa>ga
ɣwa, wa, kwa>ka
wauae
we>e (K, Ø)
a
wa>a (K)
wa (Ø)
tʂwæ, se, sa
xwæ, ke, kwa>ka; ŋwæX, gwe>ge, gwa>ga
ʔwæ, e, wa
i̯ɑjaya gja, gya, kya
i̯aia ʑjæ, zya, sya; tshjæX, sya, sya; zjæ, zya, sya; sjæH, sya, sya; tsjæ, sa, sya; yjæX, ya/e, ya; , , yjæ, ya, ya
i̯wɑiuɑjwa(no example in GSR)
uoouuo
wo>o (Ø)
/ buH, bu, ho; mu, mo, bo; puH, hu, ho; tu, tu, to; / du, du>zu, to; suH, su, so; tsu, su, so; ku, ku, ko
, ʔu, u, wo>o
i̯wojoyo
o (K, Ø)
yo ɳjoX, nyo, dyo>zyo; / ʈjo, tyo, tyo; ɲjo(H), nyo, zyo; zjoX, zyo, syo
khjoH, ko, kyo; kjoH, ko, kyo; ŋjoH, go, gyo; kjo, ko, kyo; ŋjo, go, gyo; ʔjo(H), o, yo
i̯uiojuuu
yu (S)
mjuX, mu, bu; mju, mu, bu; pju, hu, hu; / ljuH, ru, ru; ŋjuX, gu, gu; ɣjuH, u, u
sju, su, syu; tsju, su, syu; dzjuH, zu, syu; dʐju, zyu, su

Rimes ending in a palatal glideedit

These MC rimes are analyzed as having a palatal glide after the vowel, though not all of the rimes end in a phonetic [j] in all MC transcription systems. These mostly end up as Japanese ai, e, ē, i, or ui.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑ̌iɒiojai, dojH, dai, tai; / doj, dai, tai; tsoj, sai, sai; sojH, sai, sai; kojX, kai, kai; ʔoj, ai, ai
ɑiɑiaj~ paiH, hai, hai; laiH, rai, rai; dajH, dai, tai; thaiH, tai, tai; tshajH, sai, sai; ɣaj, gai, kai
ə̆iɛiɛjeai/ pɛjH, he, hai; dʐɛj, ze, sai; , kɛjH, ke, kai; ɣɛjH, ge, kai; ʔɛjH, e, ai
aiɛɛX, be, hai; X, me, bai; ʂɛX, se, sai; ɣɛH/X, ge, kai; ʔɛH, e, ai
aiaiæj~~~ mæjH, me, bai; pæjH/bæjH, he/be, hai
uɑ̌iuɒiwojai
we>e (K, Ø)
ai
wai>ai (K)
wai (Ø)
bwojH, bai, hai; mwoj, mai/me, bai; nwojX, nai, dai; / twojH, tai, tai; twoj, tai, tai, (tui); tshwojH, sai, sai
kwojH, kwe>ke, kwai>kai; khwojX, kwe>ke, kwai>kai; khwoj/khwɛj, ke, kai
ʔwoj, we>e, wai
wɑiuɑiwaj~/ thwaj, tai, tai; tswajH, sai, sai
/ ɣwajH/kwajH, we>e/kwe>ke, kwai>kai; ŋwaiH, gwe>ge, gwai>gai
ʔwaiH, kai, kai, (wai); / ɣwajH, we>e, kwai>kai
wə̆iuɛiwɛj kwɛjH, kwe>ke, kwai>kai; khwɛjH, ke, kai; kwɛj, ke, kwai>kai
ʔwɛj, we>e, wai; / ɣwɛjH, we>e, kwai>kai; ɣwɛj, we>e, kwai>kai, (wai)
wai kwɛH, ke, kai; kwɛH, kwe>ke, kwai>kai
ʔwɛ, we>e, wai
waiuaiwæj~~ ɣwæjH, e, kai, (wa); kwæjH, ke, kai; khwæjH, kwe>ke, kwai>kai
i̯ɛiiɛijejai, (e)
ei>ē, (e) (Ø)
ei>ē ljejH, rai, rai/rē; ljejH, re, ; ʈhjejH, tai, tē; ɕjejH, se, ; tsjejH, sai, sē; tɕjejH, sai, sē; khjejH, kai,
yjejH, yei>ē, yei>ē; yjejH, ē, ē; yjejH, e, ē
i̯ɛijɛijiej~e, (ai) pjiejH, he, ; , bjiejH, be, ; mjiejH, mai, bē
ieieiejai
e (K)
pejH, hai, hē; mejX, mai, ; / thejX, tai, ; / lejX, rai, ; dejH, dai, tē; 西 sej, sai, ; sejH, sai, sē
kej, ke, kē; khejH, ke,
ʔej(H), ai, ē
i̯æiiɐijojo, (ai)
e (K)
ai/ pjojH, ho, hai; bjojH, bai/o, hai; phjojH, ho, hai
, ŋjojH, ge, gai
i̯wɛiiuɛijwejai, e, ei>ē
we>e (K, Ø)
ei>ē
wei>ē (K, Ø)
ʈjwejH, tai, tē; ɲjwejH, ne/nē, zē; tshjwejH, sai, sē, (zē); tshjwejH/tʂhjwejH, sai, sē; zjwejH, zē, sē; / ɕjwejH, se, sē, (); tɕjwejH, se, sē, (zē)
kjwejH, kwe>ke, kwei>kē; / yjwejH, ē, ē; ɣjwejH, we>e, wei>ē
i̯wɛijuɛijwiej(no example in GSR)
i̯wæiiuɐijwojwe>ewai>ai (K)
wai (Ø)
xjwoj, kwe>ke, kwai>kai
ʔjwoj, e, wai
iweiueiwejwei>ē khwej, ke, kē; kwej, kwe>ke, kwei>kē; ɣwej, we>e, kwei>kē; /, ɣwejH, we>e, kwei>
iejei mjeX, mi, bi; ɖje, di>zi, ti; tsjeX, si, si; ɕje, se, si; gje/kje, gi/ki, ki; ʔjeH, i, i
jejie mjieX, mi, bi; phjieX, bi, hi; khjieH, ki, ki; ʔjieH, i, i
iiij pijH, hi, hi; dijH, di>zi, ti; tshijH, si, si; dzijH, zi, si; sijH, si, si; kijX, ki, ki; ʔijH, i, i
ijijij bjijH, bi, hi; mjijH, mi, bi; ɲjijH, ni, zi; ɕjijX, si, si; ʑjijH, zi, si; khjijH, ki, ki; yjij, i, i; ʔjij, i, i
ii ʈiH, ti, ti; ɖi(H)/ɖijH, di>zi, ti; tsiX, si, si; ʂiX, si, si; kiX, ko, ki; xi, ki, ki; ŋi, gi, gi; / ʔi, i, i
ěiiǝijɨji
e (K, Ø)
i phjɨjH, hi, hi; mjɨjH, mi, bi
gjɨj, gi/ge, ki; / khjɨjH, ke, ki; ŋjɨjH, ge, gi; ʔjɨj(H), e, i
wiěiuejwewi>ui (T, S)
wi>i
ɖjwe, dwi>zui, twi>tui; ʈjweH, tui, tui; ljwe, rui, rui; / zjwe, zui, sui
ŋjwe, gwi>gi, gwi>gi, (ki); kjweX, kwi>ki, kwi>ki; ɣjwe, wi>i, wi>i
wiějuejwie khjwie, ki, ki; kjwie, ki, ki; ʔjwieH, i, i
wiuiwij lwjijH, rui, rui; ʂwij, sui, sui
kwijH, kwi>ki, kwi>ki; ɣwijX, wi>i, wi>i
wijuijwij~~ ɲjwij, ni, zui; ɕjwijX, swi>sui, swi>sui; yjwij, yui, wi>i
kjwijH, ki, ki; gjwijH, gi, ki
wěiiuǝijwɨjwe>e
wi>i (after MC ɣ)
wi>i xjwɨj, ke, ki; ŋjwɨjH, gwe>ge, gwi>gi; ʔjwɨjH, we>e, wi>i
ɣjwɨjH, wi>i, wi>i; ɣjwɨjH, wi>i, wi>i; ɣjwɨjH, wi>i, wi>i

Rimes ending in a labial glideedit

The MC rimes ending in a labial glide were for the most part borrowed as diphthongs in Japanese. These later monophthongized as long vowels, such that these MC rimes mostly correspond to modern Japanese ō, , ū, or .

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑuɑuawau>ō pawX, hō, hō (ho); tawX, tau>, tau>; tsawH, sau>sō, sau>sō; khaw, kau>kō, kau>kō; / ʔawH, au>ō, au>ō
auauæweu>yōau>ō mæw, meu>myō, bau>bō; pæw, peu>hyō, pau>; ɖæwH, deu>zyō, tau>tō; tʂæwX, seu>syō, sau>sō; kæwH, kyō, kō; khæwH/X, kyō, kau>; ʔæw, eu>yō, au>ō
i̯ɛuiɛujeweu>yō pjewX, peu>hyō, peu>hyō; ʈhjew, teu>tyō, teu>tyō; tsjew, seu>syō, seu>syō; gjew, geu>gyō, keu>kyō; ʔjew, eu>, eu>; yjewH, yeu>eu>, yeu>eu>
i̯ɛujɛujiew mjiewH, meu>myō, beu>byō; gjiew, geu>gyō, keu>kyō; ʔjiew(H), yeu>eu>, yeu>eu>
ieueuew lewH, reu>ryō, reu>ryō; sewH, seu>syō, seu>syō; kew, keu>kyō, keu>kyō; ʔewX, eu>yō, eu>yō
ə̆uuuwuou>ō phuwX, hu, hō, (); duwH, du>zu, ; duw, du>zu, ; tsuwX, su, ; khuwX, ku, ; kuwX, ku, kō; ɣuw, gu, ; / ʔuw, u, ō
iə̆uiujuwu
iu>yū (T)
yu (S)
ū (P)
iu>yū
bjuwX, bu, hū, (hu); pjuw(X), hu, hū; mjuw, mu,
ʈjuwX, tyū, tyū; ɖjuwH, diu>zyū, tiu>tyū; / ʈjuwH, tiu>tyū, tiu>tyū; ɲjuw, niu>nyū, ziu>zyū
sjuwH, syu, syū; zjuw, zyu, siu>syū; sjuw, syu, siu>syū
, kjuwX, ku, kiu>kyū; , ɣjuwX, u, iu>; ɣjuwH, u, iu>yū; ʔjuw, u, iu>
yjuw, yu, iu>, (yui); , yjuw, yu, iu>yū; yjuw, iu>, iu>
i̯ĕuiĕujiwiu>yū mjiw, miu>myū, biu>byū; pjiw, piu>hyū, piu>hyū; kjiwX, kiu>kyū, kiu>kyū; ʔjiwH, iu>yū, iu>yū, (eu>)

Rimes with coda medit

MC coda /m/ was originally written in Japanese with the man'yōgana , which came to stand for the nasal special mora /N/. The manyō'gana developed into the hiragana ん used to represent /N/. It is possible that originally represented two distinct sounds, moraic /m/ and moraic /n/ (from MC coda /n/, see below), but they may have been pronounced identically in Sino-Japanese vocabulary from the start. Regardless, would not have stood for /mu/ in these words (the Go-on reading), just as the precursors of hiragana つ represented /t/ and not /tu/ when adapting the MC coda /t/ (see below). Native /mu/ from this time (man'yōgana or , among others) remains /mu/, developing to /N/ only under very specific circumstances, while the borrowed moraic /m/ always develops to /N/.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑmɑmam~an lam, ran, ran; sam(H), san, san; / dzam, zan, san; kam, kan, kan
ɑ̌mɒmomonan thom, ton, tan, (don); , nom, nan, dan; / tshomX, son, san; khomX, kon, kan; ɣom, gon, kan, (gan); ʔomH, on, an
i̯wæmiuɐmjom~ bjom, bon, han; phjomH, hon, han
ə̆mɐmɛm~~en ɖɛmX, den, tan; tʂɛmX, sen, san, (zan); ɣem, gen, kan
amamæm ʂæm, sen, san; kæm(H), ken, kan; ɣæm, gen, kan
i̯ɛmiɛmjemen pjemX, hen, hen; ʈjem, ten, ten; tɕjem(H), sen, sen; / tshjem, sen, sen; / yjemH, yen>en, yen>en; gjem, gen, ken; ʔjemX, en, en
i̯ɛmjɛmjiem ʔjiem(H), en, en, (on); ʔjiemX/H, en, en, (on)
iememem~/ temX, ten, ten; kem(H), ken, ken
i̯æmiɐmjæm~~onen/ ŋjæm, gon, gen; / kjæmH, kon, ken; khjæmH, kon, ken
i̯ǝmiǝmimin
on (K, Ø)
in pimX, hin, hin; zim, zin, sin; lim, rin, rin
, kim, kon, kin; gim, gon, kin; ʔim, on, in
i̯ǝmjǝmjim~in ɕjimX, sin, sin; , yjim, in, in; ɲjim, nin, jin
yjim, in, in; ʔjim, in/an/on (unclassified On readings)

Rimes with coda nedit

MC coda /n/ was adapted in Japanese as the nasal special mora /N/.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑnɑnanan panH, han, han; banX/H, ban, han; / tan, tan, tan; tanH, tan/dan, tan; sanX/H, san, san; kan, kan, kan; ʔan, an, an
ananænenan/ mæn, men, ban; pænX, hen, han; ʂænH, sen, san; kæn, ken, kan; ʔænH, en, an
ə̆nɛnɛn bɛnH, ben, han; ɖɛn, den, tan; ʂɛn, sen, san; kɛn, ken, kan; kɛnX, ken, kan; ʔɛn, en, an
i̯ɛniɛnjen~en/ pjenH, hen, hen; ʈjenX, ten, ten; ɲjen, nen, zen; sjenH, sen, sen; gjen, gen, ken; yjen(H), yen>en, yen>en
i̯ɛnjɛnjien便 bjien, ben, hen; pjien, hen, hen; mjienH, men, ben; khjienX/H, ken, ken
ienenen phenH, hen, hen; 殿 denH/tenH, den, ten; lenH, ren, ren; senH, sen, sen; kenH, ken, ken; ʔen(H), en, en
uɑnuɑnwanan
wan>an (K)
wan (Ø)
twanX, tan, tan; / lwanH, ran, ran, (ron); swanX, san, san
kwan, kwan>kan, kwan>kan; ɣwan, gwan>gan, kwan>kan
ʔwanX, wan, wan
wanuanwæn~en
wen>en (K)
an
wan>an (K)
tʂhwænH, sen, san; 孿 ʂwænH, sen, san
kwænH, kwen>ken, kwan>kan; ɣwænH, gen, kwan>kan
wə̆nuɛnwɛn kwɛn(H), kwen>ken, kwan>kan; ɣwɛnH, gwen>gen, kwan>kan
i̯æniɐnjononan
en (K, Ø)
bjon, bon, han; / mjonH, mon, ban (man)
ŋjon, gon, gen; xjon, kon, ken; kjonH, kon, ken; ʔjonX, on, en
i̯wɛniuɛnjwenen
wen>en (K, Ø)
/ ʈjwenH, ten, ten; sjwen, sen, sen; dzjwen, zen, sen; ɲjwenX, nen, zen, (nan)
/ gjwen, gon, ken; gjwen, gwen>gen, kwen>ken; kjwenX, ken, ken, (kwan>kan); , 沿, yjwen, en, en
i̯wɛnjuɛnjwien kjwienH, ken, ken; ʔjwien, en, en
iwenuenwen khwenH, kwen>ken, kwen>ken; ɣwen, gwen>gen, ken; ʔwen, wen>en, wen>en
ǝnǝnonon kon, kon, kon; ɣon, gon, kon; ʔon, on, on
wǝnuǝnwonon
won>on (Ø)
pwon, hon, hon; dwon, don, ton; tshwonH, sun, son; dzwon, zon, son; tswon, son, son; kwon, kon, kon; khwonH, kon, kon
/ ʔwon, won>on, won>on
i̯wæniuɐnjwonon
won>on (Ø)
wen>en khjwonX, kon, kwen>ken; ŋjwon, gon, gwen>gen
ɣjwon, won>on, wen>en; ʔjwon(H), won>on, wen>en; ʔjwonX, won>on, wen>en
i̯ɛniɛnin~in
on (K)
in bin, bin, hin; ʈin(H), tin, tin; linH, rin, rin; tsinH, sin, sin
kin, kon, kin; ŋin, gon, gin
i̯ēniēnin(same as above in Baxter's transcription)
i̯ēnjēnjinin pjin(H), hin, hin; ɲjin, nin, zin; ʑjin, zin, sin; dʑjin, zin, sin; yjinX/H, in, in; kjinX, kin, kin; ʔjin, in, in
i̯wēniuēnwinin (after /r/)
yun (T, S)
on (K)
win>in (Ø)
in (after /r/)
yun (T, S)
win>in (K, Ø)
, , , , lwin, rin, rin
椿 ʈhwin, tyun, tyun; zwin, zyun, syun; swinX, syun, syun
gwinX, gon, kwin>kin; khwin, kon, kin; kwin, kon, kwin>kin
ɣwinX, win>in, win>in; ʔwin/khwin, in/gin, in/kin
i̯uēniuēnwin(same as above in Baxter's transcription)
i̯uēnjuēnjwin~yun (S)
win>in (K, Ø)
ʑjwin, zyun, syun; ɕjwinX, syun, syun (zyun); ɲjwinH, nin, zyun
kjwin, kin, kin; yjwinX, win>in (unclassified On)
i̯ǝniǝnjɨnonin kjɨn, kon, kin; gjɨnX/H, gon, kin; /, ʔjɨnX, on, in
i̯uǝniuǝnjunun, (on)un bjunH, bun, fun; , bjunX, bun, hun; , mjun, mon, bun; kjun, kun, kun, (gun); kjun, kun, kun; ʔjunH, un, un (won>on)

Rimes with coda ŋedit

MC coda /ŋ/ was borrowed as a single Japanese phoneme which was realized as two nasalized offglides: [ĩ] after /e/, and [ũ] after /u, o, a/. The nasality of these glides was generally not represented in writing, but in some cases was indicated with the same diacritic mark that would become the dakuten used to mark prenasalized obstruents.[9] These glides then denasalized, and the resulting diphthongs later monophthongized as long vowels. As such, almost all characters with the MC coda /ŋ/ end in ō, , ē, ū, or in modern Japanese on'yomi.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑŋɑŋaũ>ō paŋH, hō, hō; daŋ, daũ>dō, taũ>; tshaŋ, saũ>, saũ>; kaŋ, kaũ>kō, kaũ>kō; ʔaŋ, ō, ō
æŋɐŋæŋyaũ>yōaũ>ō mæŋ, myaũ>myō, maũ>; phæŋ, pyaũ>hyō, paũ>hō; ʈhæŋ, tyō, tō; ʂæŋ, syō, sō
ɣæŋ(H), gyaũ>gyō, kaũ>; , , khæŋ, kyaũ>kyō, kaũ>; xæŋ, kaũ>kō, kyaũ>kyō
ɛŋɛŋɛŋ, mɛŋ, myaũ>myō, maũ>mō; pɛŋ, pyaũ>hyō, paũ>hō; ʈɛŋ, tyaũ>tyō, taũ>tō; / tʂɛŋ, syaũ>syō, saũ>
/ ɣɛŋ, gyō, kō, (); /, ʔɛŋ, yaũ>yō, aũ>ō
ɔŋɔŋæwŋoũ>ō pæwŋ, poũ>, paũ>; ɖæwŋH, dō, taũ>tō; / ʂæwŋ, soũ>, saũ>; kæwŋH, koũ>, kaũ>; kæwŋ, koũ>, kaũ>
ǝŋǝŋoũ>ō boŋ, boũ>bō, poũ>hō; toŋX, toũ>, toũ>; toŋ, toũ>, toũ> ; tsoŋ, soũ>sō, soũ>sō, (); soŋ, soũ>, soũ>; khoŋX, koũ>, koũ>
wǝŋuǝŋwoŋ kwoŋ, kō, kō; ɣwoŋ, gu, kō
wɑŋuɑŋwaŋwaũ>ō kwaŋ, kwaũ>, kwaũ>; , / ɣwaŋ, waũ>ō, kwaũ>; ʔwaŋ, ō, ō
wæŋuɐŋwæŋ kwæŋ, kō, kō; /, ɣwæŋ(H), waũ>ō, kwaũ>kō
wɛŋuɛŋwɛŋ ɣwɛŋ, waũ>ō, kwaũ>kō
i̯aŋiaŋjaŋaũ>ō (P, K, some S)
yaũ>yō (T, S, Ø)
aũ>ō (P, some S)
yaũ>yō
mjaŋ, maũ>, baũ>; , mjaŋH, maũ>, baũ>; phjaŋH, paũ>, paũ>
ɖjaŋX, dyaũ>zyō, tyaũ>tyō; ʈjaŋ, tyō, tyō; dʑjaŋH/X, zyaũ>zyō, syaũ>syō; dʑjaŋ(H), zyaũ>zyō, syaũ>syō; ɕjaŋ, syaũ>syō, syaũ>syō
/ tʂjaŋ(H), syaũ>syō, saũ>; ʂjaŋ, syaũ>syō, saũ>
ljaŋ, raũ>rō, ryaũ>ryō; zjaŋX, zaũ>, syaũ>syō; sjaŋ(H), saũ>, syaũ>syō; ŋjaŋX, gaũ>gō, gyaũ>gyō, (); gjaŋ, gaũ>, kyaũ>kyō
ʔjaŋ, ō/yō, yō; ʔjaŋX/H, yō (unclassified On); , , , yjaŋ, yaũ>, yaũ>
i̯waŋiuaŋjwaŋwaũ>ōwyaũ>yō (K)
waũ>ō (Ø)
xjwaŋH, kwaũ>kō, kwyaũ>kyō; gjwaŋ(H), gō, kyō
ɣjwaŋ(H), waũ>ō, waũ>ō; ʔjwaŋ, ō, ō
i̯ǝŋiǝŋyoũ>yō
oũ>ō (Ø, some K)
yoũ>yō/ piŋ, pyoũ>hyō, pyoũ>hyō; ɖiŋ, dyoũ>zyō, tyoũ>tyō; liŋ, ryoũ>ryō, ryoũ>ryō; ɕiŋ, syoũ>syō, syoũ>syō; / yjiŋ, yō, yō
xiŋ, , kyō; kiŋ, kyō, kyō; ʔiŋ, ō, yō
i̯æŋiɐŋjæŋyaũ>yōeĩ>ē bjæŋ, byaũ>byō, peĩ>; pjæŋ, pyaũ>hyō, peĩ>; mjæŋH, myaũ>myō, meĩ>; pjæŋX, pyaũ>hyō, peĩ>; mjæŋ, myaũ>myō, meĩ>
ʂjæŋ/ʂæŋ, syaũ>syō, seĩ>; kjæŋ, kyaũ>kyō, keĩ>; gjæŋH, gyaũ>gyō, keĩ>, (kyaũ>kyō); ŋjæŋ(H), gyō, ; khjæŋ, kyō, kē; ʔjæŋ, yō, ē
i̯ɛŋiɛŋjeŋ ʈjeŋ, tyō, ; ljeŋ(H), ryaũ>ryō, reĩ>; tɕjeŋH, syaũ>syō, seĩ>; , sjeŋH, syaũ>syō, seĩ>; sjeŋX, syaũ>syō, seĩ>; yjeŋ, yō, ē
i̯ɛŋjɛŋjieŋ pjieŋ, pyaũ>hyō, pei>hē; mjieŋ, myaũ>myō, meĩ>; /𠡍 kjieŋH, kyō, kē; ʔjieŋ, yō, ē
ieŋ meŋ, myaũ>myō, meĩ>; teŋ, tyaũ>tyō, teĩ>; deŋH, dyaũ>zyō, teĩ>; / leŋ, ryaũ>ryō, reĩ>; neŋ, nyaũ>nyō, neĩ>
/ keŋ(H), kyaũ>kyō, keĩ>; ɣeŋ, gyaũ>gyō, keĩ>
i̯wæŋiuɐŋjwæŋwyaũ>yōweĩ>ē xjwæŋ, kwyaũ>kyaũ>kyō, kweĩ>keĩ>; ɣjwæŋ, wyaũ>yaũ>yō, weĩ>eĩ>ē
i̯wɛŋiuɛŋjweŋ/ yjweŋ, yō, ē
i̯wɛŋjuɛŋjwieŋ, khjwieŋ, kyō, ; gjwieŋ, gyō, kē; ʔjwieŋ, yō, ē
iweŋueŋweŋ~ kweŋ, kyō, kē; ɣweŋX, gyō, kē
i̯wǝŋiuǝŋwiŋ(no example in GSR)
uwŋu
uũ>ū (T)
oũ>ō muwŋ, mu, bō, (mō); luwŋH, ru, ; suwŋH, su, ; xuwŋH, ku, kō; , kuwŋ, ku, koũ>; ɣuwŋ, gu, ; / ʔuwŋH, u, ō
tuwŋ, tū, ; thuwŋ, tuũ>, toũ>tō; duwŋ, duũ>zū, toũ>tō (dou>)
uoŋowŋo
oũ>ō (T)
towŋ, toũ>, toũ>; thowŋH, , ; nowŋ, no/, dō
tsowŋ, so, soũ>; sowŋ, so, sō
iuŋiuŋjuwŋu, uũ>ū
yuũ>yū (T)
yu (some Ø)
(y)oũ>(y)ō (P)
yuũ>yū
pjuwŋ(H), hu/, hō; bjuwŋ, bu/bū/byō, hō/hyō, (hū)
ʈjuwŋ, tyuũ>tyū, tyuũ>tyū; ɖjuwŋ, dyuũ>zyū, tyuũ>tyū
sjuwŋ, sū, syū; kjuwŋ, ku/kū, kyuũ>kyū; kjuwŋ, ku, kyuũ>kyū; ɣjuwŋ, u, yū; ɣjuwŋ, u/yu, ; yjuwŋ, yu,
i̯woŋioŋjowŋu, uũ>ū
yuũ>yū (T)
yo (some Ø)
oũ>ō (P)
yoũ>yō
pjowŋ(H), , ; phjowŋ, hu/hū, hō
ɖjowŋ(X), dyuũ>zyū, tyoũ>tyō; / ljowŋ, ryuũ>ryū, ryoũ>ryō
zjowŋH, zu, syoũ>syō; khjowŋX, ku, kyoũ>kyō; kjowŋX, ku, kyoũ>kyō; xjowŋ, ku/kū, kyō; , , yjowŋX, yu/yuũ>, yoũ>; yjowŋH, yū,
ʔjowŋ, yo, yō

Rimes with coda pedit

MC coda /p/ was borrowed as Japanese /pu/ (likely pronounced as [βu] after a vowel at the time of borrowing[11]). Note that these original readings are identical to the readings for MC /m/-final rimes, but with ふ in place of ん. The phoneme /p/ eventually lenited to /h/ word-initially, but was lost between vowels (except Vpa > Vwa). The result was that all /pu/-final readings developed /Vu/ sequences, which later monophthongized. This same change is seen in native vocabulary, as in OJ ke1pu > ModJ kyō 'today'. As a result of this development, all characters with the MC coda /p/ have Go and Kan readings ending in ō, or in modern Japanese.

Originally, borrowed coda /p/ functioned just like coda /t, k/ (see below) in that the "epenthetic" vowel /u/ did not appear before a voiceless obstruent /h~p, t, s, k/ in the same word, resulting in readings with the obstruent special mora /Q/ in place of /pu/. This phenomenon can still be seen in a number of Japanese words, for example /zipu/ > /zyū/ 'ten' vs. 十歳 /ziQ.sai/ [dʑissai] 'ten years old' (now usually /zyuQ.sai/ [dʑɯssai]). For (MC lop), the expected Kan reading /rapu > rō/ is not found in Sino-Japanese vocabulary, but only /raQ/ as in 拉致 /raQ.ti/ [ɾattɕi] 'abduction' (shortened in most words to /ra/). However, for many characters, the vowel-final readings have been extended to all environments. In some cases, the reading with /Q/ led to the analogical creation of a /tu/-final reading. Notably, for (MC lip) the Kan'yō-on reading /ritu/ (from regular /riQ/) is overwhelmingly common in Sino-Japanese vocabulary.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑpɑpapapu>ō lap, rapu>rō, rapu>rō; dap, dō, tō; ɣap, gapu>gō, kapu>kō; khap, kō, kō
ɑ̌pɒpop~opu>ōapu>ō top, topu>, tapu>; lop, rō, rō, (ratu/ra); nop, nopu>nō, dapu>dō; / dzop, zopu>, sapu>sō, (zapu>, zatu); ɣop, gopu>, kapu>kō, (ka'/ga')
i̯wæpiuɐpjop bjop, bopu>, papu>hō; pjop, popu>, papu>, (ha'/ho')
ə̆pɐpɛpepu>yō/ tʂhɛp, sepu>syō, sapu>; kɛp, kepu>kyō, kapu>kō
apapæp~ ʂæp, syō, sō (unclassified On); kæp, kepu>kyō, kapu>, (kan); ʔæp, epu>yō, apu>ō
i̯ɛpiɛpjep~epu>yō/ ljep, repu>ryō, repu>ryō; ɳjep, nepu>nyō, depu>zyō; tshjep, sepu>syō, sepu>syō; yjep, epu>, epu>
i̯ɛpjɛpjiep ʔjiep, epu>yō, epu>yō
iepepep thep, tepu>tyō, tepu>tyō; tsep, sepu>syō, sepu>syō; kep, kepu>kyō, kepu>kyō
i̯æpiɐpjæpopu>ōepu>yō ŋjæp, gopu>, gepu>gyō; xjæp, kō, kyō
i̯ǝpiǝpipipu>yū
opu>ō (K, Ø)
ipu>yū ɖip, dipu>zyū, tipu>tyū; zip, zipu>zyū, sipu>syū; lip, ripu>ryū, ripu>ryū, (ritu)
kip, kopu>kō, kipu>kyū; ʔip, opu>ō, ipu>yū / apu>ō
i̯ǝpjǝpjipipu>yū, dʑjip, zipu>zyū, sipu>syū, (zi'); tɕjip, sipu>syū, sipu>syū, (situ); ɲjip, nipu>nyū, zipu>zyū, (ni'); ʔjip, ipu>yū, ipu>yū

Rimes with coda tedit

The MC coda /t/ was borrowed as Japanese /t/. Characters ending in this consonant were at first consistently pronounced with no epenthetic vowel, with the kana つ serving double duty to represent /t/ and /tu/.[9] Note that these readings are identical to the readings for MC /n/-final rimes, but with つ/ち in place of ん. Later, an epenthetic vowel /u/ or /i/ was inserted after the consonant in most environments. Kan-on readings use /tu/ exclusively, while the earlier Go'on readings use both /ti/ and /tu/ unpredictably. For example, MC bat is adapted as Go /batu/, while the homophonous MC bat is listed in dictionaries as Go /bati/ (though it is not actually used in existing Japanese words). Often Go readings with /ti/ and /tu/ are listed for the same character, though in practice those with /tu/ are much more common. For example, has the Go readings /meti/ and /metu/, but only /metu/ is recognized as the jōyō reading, and this is the only Go reading found in existing Japanese words. In fact only nine characters have jōyō readings with /(C)Vti/, though these include the common characters /iti/ 'one', /siti/ 'seven', /hati/ 'eight', and /niti/ 'day'. Before a voiceless obstruent /h~p, t, s, k/ in the same word, the epenthetic vowel does not appear, and the /t/ functions as the obstruent special mora /Q/, forming a geminate with the following obstruent. For example, /niti/ 'day' appears as /niQ/ in the word 日記 /niQ.ki/ [nikki] 'diary'.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑtɑtat~ati/atuatu mat, matu, batu; mat, mati/matu, batu; bat, batu, hatu; bat, bati, hatu; tat, tati, tatu; kat, kati, katu; ʔat, ati, atu
atatæteti/etu, (ati)atu ʈæt, teti, tatu; / tʂhæt, seti, satu, (setu); ɣæt, geti, katu
ə̆tɛtɛt pɛt, hati, hatu; tʂɛt, setu, satu; tʂhɛt, seti, satu; khɛt, keti, katu; ʔɛt, eti, atu
i̯ɛtiɛtjeteti/etuetu bjet, beti, hetu, (betu); ʈhjet, teti, tetu; ljet, reti, retu; sjet, seti, setu; ŋjet, geti, getu; kjet, keti, ketu
i̯ɛtjɛtjiet mjiet, meti/metu, betu; pjiet, heti, hetu
ietetet met, meti, betu; det, deti, tetu; set, seti, setu; ket, keti, ketu; ŋet, geti, getu; ʔet, eti, etu
uɑtuɑtwatati/atu
wati>ati (K)
wati (Ø)
atu
watu>atu (K)
watu (Ø)
dwat, datu, tatu; tshwat, sati, satu
, kwat, kwati>kati, kwatu>katu; ɣwat, gwati>gati, kwatu>katu
ʔwat, wati, watu
watuatwæt~eti
weti>eti (K, Ø)
atu
watu>atu (K)
watu (Ø)
ʈwæt, teti, tatu; ʂwæt, seti, satu
kwæt, keti, katu; ɣwæt, geti, katu
ʔwæt, watu (unclassified On)
wə̆tuɛtwɛt~~ ɣwɛt, geti, katu; ɣwɛt, gweti>geti, kwatu>katu; tʂwɛt, seti/satu (unclassified On)
i̯ætiɐtjototi/otuatu
etu (K, Ø)
/ pjot, hoti/hotu, hatu; bjot, boti, hatu (batu); mjot, moti, batu, (betu)
xjot, koti, ketu; ʔjot, oti, etu
i̯wɛtiuɛtjwet~eti/etu
weti>eti (K)
etu
wetu>etu (K, Ø)
ʈjwet, teti, tetu; ljwet, reti, retu; dzjwet, zeti/zetu, setu
ʔjwot/ʔjwet, woti>oti, wetu>etu; /, / yjwet, eti, etu
i̯wɛtjuɛtjwiet xjwiet, keti, ketu; / khwet/khjwiet, kweti>keti, kwetu>ketu
iwetuetwet~ kwet/xwet, kweti>keti, kwetu>ketu; ɣwet, gweti>getu, kwetu>ketu
ǝtǝtototi/otuotu ɣot, goti, kotu (only example in GSR)
wǝtuǝtwot mwot, motu, botu; dwot, doti, totu; nwot, noti, dotu; tshwot, soti, sotu; kwot, koti, kotu
i̯wætiuɐtjwototi, (watu>atu)
woti>oti (Ø)
wetu>etu ŋjwot, goti/gwatu>gatu, gwetu>getu; ɣjwot, woti>oti, wetu>etu
i̯ɛtiɛtititi
oti/otu (K, Ø)
itu bit, biti, hitu; ɖit, diti>ziti, titu; lit, riti, ritu; tshit, siti, situ; yjit, iti, itu
git, goti, kitu; ʔit, oti/otu, itu
i̯ētiētit(same as above in Baxter's transcription)
i̯ētjētjititi/ituitu pjit, hiti, hitu; mjit, miti/mitu, bitu; ɕjit, siti, situ; tɕjit, siti, situ; ɲjit, niti, zitu; kjit, kiti, kitu; ʔjit, iti, itu; yjit, iti, itu
i̯wētiuētwit~iti (after /r/)
yuti/yutu (T, S)
witi>iti (K, Ø)
itu (after /r/)
yutu (T, S)
witu>itu (K, Ø)
, lwit, riti, ritu
swit, syuti, syutu; ʈhwit, tyuti, tyutu
i̯uētiuētwit(same as above in Baxter's transcription)
i̯uētjuētjwit tɕhjwit, syuti, syutu; ʑjwit, zyuti/zyutu, syutu
kjwit, kiti, kitu; , yjwit, iti, itu
i̯ǝtiǝtjɨtotiitu khjɨt, koti, kitu, (kotu); xjɨt, koti, kitu
i̯uǝtiuǝtjutoti/otu (P)
uti
utu, , 巿 pjut, hoti, hutu; mjut, moti/motu, butu
khjut, kuti, kutu; ʔjut, uti, utu

Rimes with coda kedit

MC coda /k/ was borrowed as Japanese /k/ with a following epenthetic /i/ (after /e/) or /u/ (after /a, o, u/). After /i/, the epenthetic vowel (/iki/ vs. /iku/) depends on the original Middle Chinese vowel. The readings for MC /k/-final rimes are very similar to the original readings for MC /ŋ/-final rimes with く/き in place of nasalized う/い, but in this case there are some differences. Just like with coda /t/, the epenthetic vowel is absent before a voiceless obstruent /h~p, t, s, k/ in the same word, and the /k/ functions as the obstruent special mora /Q/. For example, /gaku/ 'study' appears as /gaQ/ in the word 学校 /gaQ.kō/ [gakkō] 'school'.

MC rime transcriptionOccurs afterJapanese On readingsExamples
Karlgr.LiBaxterPTSKØGoKanMiddle Chinese, Go-on, Kan-on, (Kan'yō)
ɑkɑkakaku pak, haku, haku; mak, maku, baku; lak, raku, raku; sak, saku, saku; tsak, saku, saku; kak, kaku, kaku; / ʔak, aku, aku
ækɐkæk~yakuaku pæk, hyaku, haku; bæk, byaku, haku; / phæk, hyaku, haku; ʈæk, tyaku, taku; tʂæk, syaku, saku; khæk, kyaku, kaku; / ʔæk, yaku, aku
ɛkɛkɛk~ mɛk, myaku, baku; / tʂhɛk, syaku, saku, (satu); kɛk, kyaku, kaku; ʔɛk, yaku, aku
ɔkɔkæwkaku mæwk, maku, baku; ɖæwk, daku, taku, (teki); ʈæwk, taku, taku; ʂæwk, saku, saku; kæwk, kaku, kaku; / ɣæwk, gaku, kaku; ʔæwk, aku, aku
ǝkǝkokoku pok, hoku, hoku; mok, moku, boku; tok, toku, toku; sok, soku, soku; tsok, soku, soku; khok, koku, koku
wǝkuǝkwok~oku
waku (Ø)?
/ kwok, koku, koku
, ɣwok, waku, koku
wɑkuɑkwakwaku>aku (K)
waku (Ø)
kwak, kwaku>kaku, kwaku>kaku; ɣwak, waku, kaku
ʔwak, waku, waku, (kwaku>kaku)
wækuɐkwæk~~waku>aku? xwæk/xwek, kaku, kyaku; kwæk, kyaku/kaku (unclassified On)
wɛkuɛkwɛk~waku>aku, (oku?)
waku (Ø)
waku>aku,
(wyaku>yaku?)
kwɛk, koku, kwaku>kaku; kwɛk, kwaku>kaku, kwyaku>kyaku
, / ɣwɛk, waku, kwaku>kaku
i̯akiakjakaku
yaku (T, Ø)
aku (P)
yaku
bjak, baku, haku
ɖjak, dyaku>zyaku, tyaku; ɲjak, nyaku, zyaku
ljak, raku, ryaku; tshjak, saku, syaku; khjak, kaku, kyaku
ʔjak, yaku, yaku; , yjak, yaku, yaku
i̯wakiuakjwak~waku>akuwyaku>yaku
waku (Ø)
kjwak, kwaku>kaku, kwyaku>kyaku; ʔjwak/ʔjwæk, waku (unclassified On)
i̯ǝkiǝkikiki
yoku (after /n/)?
oku (K, Ø, some S)
yoku pik, hiki, hyoku; ɖik, diki>ziki, tyoku; lik, riki, ryoku; / tsik, soku, syoku; ʂik, siki, syoku; tɕik, siki, syoku; ɕik, siki, syoku; yjik, iki, yoku
ɳik, nyoku, dyoku>zyoku
gik, goku, kyoku; khik, koku, kyoku; kik, koku, kyoku; ʔik, oku, yoku
i̯ækiɐkjæk~yakueki pjæk, hyaku, heki; ʈhjæk, tyaku (unclassified On); ŋjæk, gyaku, geki; khjæk, kyaku, keki
i̯ɛkiɛkjek ɖjek, zyaku, teki; zjek, zyaku, seki; sjek, syaku, seki; tshjek/tɕhjek, syaku, seki; /, / yjek, yaku, eki
i̯ɛkjɛkjiek pjiek, hyaku, heki; ʔjiek, yaku, eki
iekekek mek, myaku, beki; tek, tyaku, teki; sek, syaku, seki; ŋek, gyaku, geki
i̯wækiuɐkjwækwyaku>yakuweki>eki(no example in GSR)
i̯wɛkiuɛkjwek yjwek, yaku, eki
i̯wɛkjuɛkjwiek(no example in GSR)
iwekuekwek/ kwek, kyaku, kweki>keki; khwek, kyaku, keki
i̯wǝkiuǝkwikoku
wiki>iki (Ø)
(wyoku)>yoku xwik, koku, kwyoku>kyoku
ɣwik, wiki>iki, yoku
ukukuwkoku
woku>oku (Ø)
, muwk, moku, boku; puwk, hoku, hoku; /, / duwk, doku, toku; 禿 thuwk, toku, toku; 鹿 luwk, roku, roku; suwk, soku, soku; kuwk, koku, koku
ʔuwk, woku>oku, woku>oku
uokokowk~~ bowk/buwk, boku, hoku; dowk, doku, toku; kowk, koku, koku; ʔowk, oku, yoku
iukiukjuwkuku, oku
iku (T)
wiku>iku (K, Ø)
uku, oku (P)
iku
yuku (S)
wiku>iku (K, Ø)
, mjuwk, moku, boku; pjuwk, huku, huku; bjuwk, buku, huku
ʈjuwk, tiku, tiku; ɳjuwk, niku, diku>ziku; ɲjuwk, niku, ziku; , ljuwk, roku, riku
宿, sjuwk, suku, syuku; , , / ʂjuwk, suku, syuku; tshjuwk, suku, syuku
kjuwk, kiku, kiku; ɣjuwk, wiku>iku, wiku>iku; ʔjuwk, wiku>iku, wiku>iku; yjuwk, iku, iku
i̯wokiokjowkokuyoku/ ljowk, roku, ryoku; tshjowk, soku, syoku; xjowk, koku, kyoku; , ŋjowk, goku, gyoku; , , yjowk, yoku, yoku

Shapes of borrowed Sino-Japanese rootsedit

All MC roots were a single syllable, and due to the restrictions on possible MC syllable shapes, a limited set of readings (on'yomi) are possible for borrowed Sino-Japanese roots. Furthermore, due in large part to the many distinct MC sounds which were merged when borrowed into Japanese, some readings are extremely common across different kanji, while others are very rare. The below table gives the number of kanji with each possible jōyō on'yomi (not distinguishing between Go, Kan, Tō, and Kan'yō, and not including readings considered restricted or rare). A zero represents a reading which is attested in Sino-Japanese vocabulary, but uses a non-jōyō reading. Readings which are listed in dictionaries but which are merely hypothesized and do not appear in attested Japanese words are not considered.

Number of jōyō kanji with each possible jōyō on'yomi (Go, Kan, Tō, Kan'yō)
on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#on'yomi
example word
#
i
医 i
25e
恵 e
3a
唖 a
1o
汚職 o.syoku
2u
有 u
5ya
冶 ya
3yo
預金 yo.kin
5yu
柚 yu
7
hi
比 hi
21ha
派 -ha
5ho
歩 -ho
6hu
麩 hu
22
ti
地 ti
12ta
他 ta
4to
都 to
12tu
都合 tu.gō
1tya
茶屋 tya.ya
1tyo
著 tyo
2
si
詩 si
50se
世界 se.kai
2sa
差 sa
11so
祖 so
13su
素 su
3sya
舎 sya
13syo
書 syo
9syu
主 syu
13
ki
気 ki
39ke
卦 ke
3ka
火 ka
32ko
戸 ko
21ku
口 ku
7kyo
居 kyo
9
bi
美 bi
6ba
罵声 ba.sē
3bo
墓 bo
7bu
武 bu
8
da
打開 da.kai
7do
土 do
5
zi
字 zi
20ze
是 ze
1za
座 -za
2zu
図 zu
2zya
蛇 zya
2zyo
女 zyo
7zyu
綬 zyu
7
gi
義 gi
11ge
下 ge
3ga
画 ga
8go
語 go
12gu
具 gu
3gyo
御 gyo
3
mi
味 mi
3ma
魔法 ma.hō
4mo
茂林 mo.rin
2mu
無 mu
6
ni
二 ni
3na
那辺 na.hen
2nyo
女人 nyo.nin
2
ri
理 ri
9ra
裸裎 ra.tē
3ro
炉 ro
5ru
流 ru
1ryo
旅 ryo
4
wa
話 -wa
2
ē
栄 ē
10ō
王 ō
15ai
愛 ai
4
用 yō
22
勇 yū
17yui
遺 yui
1

平 hē
13
方 hō
24
風 hū
2hai
肺 hai
10hyō
票 hyō
8

体 tē
24
灯 tō
38
通 tū
2tai
態 tai
22tui
追加 tui.ka
4tyō
丁 tyō
27tyū
中 tyū
14

聖 sē
33
草 sō
38
数 sū
3sai
犀 sai
24sui
水 sui
12syō
小 syō
57syū
週 syū
25

計 kē
31
幸 kō
64
空 kū
1kai
回 kai
24kyō
京 kyō
28kyū
九 kyū
22

米国 bē.koku
1
坊 bō
23bai
貝 bai
8byō
秒 byō
6byū
謬説 byū.setu
0

泥土 dē.do
1
堂 dō
11dai
代 dai
5

税 zē
1
象 zō
9zai
材 zai
5zui
髄 zui
2zyō
城 zyō
21zyū
十 zyū
12

芸 gē
3
業 gō
9
偶 gū
4gai
害 gai
11gyō
行 gyō
6gyū
牛 gyū
1

名 mē
8
毛 mō
7mai
枚 -mai
6myō
妙 myō
5

寧日 nē.zitu
1
農 nō
6nai
内 nai
1nyō
尿 nyō
1nyū
入力 nyū.ryoku
3

令 rē
12
蝋 rō
10rai
雷 rai
4rui
類 rui
4ryō
両 ryō
16ryū
竜 ryū
7
wai
歪度 wai.do
1
in
引 in
13en
円 en
17an
暗 an
3on
音 on
5un
運 un
2
hin
品 hin
5hen
変 hen
7han
半 han
24hon
本 hon
3hun
分 hun
8
tin
珍 tin
6ten
天 ten
9tan
短 tan
14ton
遁辞 ton.zi
3
sin
新 sin
29sen
戦 sen
30san
三 san
12son
損 son
6sun
寸 sun
1syun
旬 syun
3
kin
金 kin
16ken
剣 ken
32kan
漢 kan
46kon
魂 kon
13kun
訓 kun
4
bin
敏 bin
4ben
弁 ben
3ban
晩 ban
8bon
盆 bon
2bun
文 bun
3
den
伝 den
4dan
男 dan
9don
鈍 don
3
zin
仁 zin
11zen
全 zen
8zan
残 zan
4zon
存意 zon.i
1zun
寸胴 zun.dō
0zyun
順 zyun
11
gin
銀 gin
2gen
言 gen
12gan
丸 gan
10gon
勤求 gon.gu
1gun
軍 gun
3
min
眠 min
2men
面 men
4man
万 man
4mon
門 mon
5
nin
人 nin
5nen
年 nen
6nan
南 nan
4
rin
林 -rin
7ren
連 ren
5ran
乱 ran
6ron
論 ron
1
wan
湾 wan
2
itu
逸 itu
1etu
悦 etu
4atu
圧力 atu.ryoku
1otu
乙 otu
utu
鬱 utu
1
hitu
筆 hitu
4hetu
丿乀 hetu.hotu
0hatu
発 hatu
2hotu
発願 hotu.gan
1hutu
仏人 hutu.zin
2
titu
帙 -titu
2tetu
鉄 tetu
5tatu
達人 tatu.zin
1totu
凸 totu
2
situ
室 situ
9setu
節 setu
11satu
札 satu
9sotu
卒 sotu
2syutu
出 syutu
1
kitu
橘 kitu
3ketu
決 ketu
7katu
活 katu
9kotu
骨 kotu
2kutu
窟院 kutu.in
3
betu
別 betu
2batu
罰 batu
5botu
没 botu
2butu
仏 butu
2
detu
捏造 detu.zō
(rare reading)
0datu
脱 datu-
2
zitu
実 zitu
2zetu
舌炎 zetu.en
2zatu
雑 zatu
1zutu
術無し zutu.na.si
(rare reading)
0zyutu
述 zyutu
2
getu
月 getu
1gatu
歹偏 gatu.hen
1gotu
兀然 gotu.zen
(rare)
0
mitu
密 mitu
2metu
滅亡 metu.bō
1matu
末 matu
2motu
没薬 motu.yaku
1
netu
熱 netu
1natu
捺印 natu.in
0
ritu
律 ritu
4retu
列 retu
4ratu
辣腕 ratu.wan
1
iti
一 iti
2eti
越後 eti.go
0
hati
八 hati
2
(tati)
達 -tati
(possibly native)
0
siti
七 siti
2seti
刹那 seti.na
0soti
帥 soti
0
kiti
吉 kiti
1keti
血縁 keti.en
0kati
褐 kati
0
beti
別 beti
0bati
罰 bati
1
(dati)
達 -dati
(possibly native)
0
ziti
実 ziti
(rare reading)
0zuti
術無し zuti.na.si
(rare reading)
0
gati
月 gati
0
miti
蜜 miti
(rare reading)
0moti
勿論 moti.ron
0
niti
日 niti
1neti
熱 neti
(rare reading)
0
riti
律 riti
0rati
埒 rati
0
iku
育児 iku.zi
1aku
悪 aku
2oku
屋 oku
4yaku
益 yaku
6yoku
欲 yoku
6
haku
白 haku
9hoku
北西 hoku.sē
1huku
服 huku
9hyaku
百 hyaku
1
tiku
竹簡 tiku.kan
5taku
宅 taku
7toku
徳 toku
7tyaku
着 tyaku
2tyoku
直 tyoku
3
seku
齷齪 aku.seku
0saku
作 saku
10soku
束 soku
11syaku
勺 syaku
5syoku
食 syoku
10syuku
宿 syuku
6
kiku
菊 kiku
1kaku
角 kaku
18koku
国 koku
8kyaku
客 kyaku
3kyoku
局 kyoku
3
baku
獏 baku
5boku
僕 boku
7buku
服 buku
(archaic)
0byaku
白毫 byaku.gō
1
daku
濁点 daku.ten
2doku
毒 doku
3
ziku
軸 ziku
1zaku
石榴 zaku.ro
0zoku
族 zoku
5zyaku
弱 zyaku
3zyoku
辱 zyoku
1zyuku
塾 zyuku
2
gaku
学 gaku
5goku
極 goku
2gyaku
逆 gyaku
2gyoku
玉 gyoku
1
maku
2moku
木 moku
3myaku
脈 myaku
1
niku
肉 niku
1nyaku
蒟蒻 kon.nyaku
0
riku
陸 riku
1raku
陸 raku
4roku
六 roku
3ryaku
略 ryaku
1ryoku
力役 ryoku.eki
2
waku
惑 waku
1
iki
域 iki
1eki
役 eki
6
hiki
疋 -hiki
0heki
癖 heki
3
teki
敵 teki
6
siki
式 siki
4seki
席 seki
16
keki
砉然 keki.zen
0
beki
冪 beki
0
deki
溺愛 deki.ai
1
ziki
直 ziki
1
geki
劇 geki
4
riki
力 riki
1reki
鬲 reki
2

Due to the fact that most MC syllables had a coda, most Japanese on'yomi are bimoraic, containing either two syllables, a long vowel, or the moraic nasal /N/. These last two structures are extremely common in Sino-Japanese roots, but somewhat rare in native Japanese vocabulary. For these and other reasons, the phonological patterns of Sino-Japanese words and native Japanese words are markedly different, and it is very often possible to correctly guess the etymological origin of a word based solely on its shape.

Phonetic correspondences between Modern Chinese and on'yomiedit

Comparison with Mandarinedit

At first glance, the on'yomi of many Sino-Japanese words do not resemble the Modern Standard Chinese pronunciations at all. Firstly, the borrowings occurred in three main waves, with the resulting sounds identified as Go-on (呉音), Kan-on (漢音), and Tō-on (唐音); these were at different periods over several centuries, from different stages in Historical Chinese phonology, and thus source pronunciations differ substantially depending on time and place. Beyond this, there are two main reasons for the divergence between Modern Standard Chinese and Modern Standard Japanese pronunciations of cognate terms:

  1. Most Sino-Japanese words were borrowed in the 5th - 9th centuries AD, from Early Middle Chinese into Old Japanese. Both languages have changed significantly since then, and in different ways. This has resulted in the respective pronunciations becoming more and more divergent over time.
  2. Middle Chinese had a much more complex syllable structure than Old Japanese, as well as many more vowel and consonant differences. Many sounds and sound combinations had to be approximated in the borrowing process, sometimes with significant differences (e.g. final /ŋ/ was represented as /u/ or /i/).

Nonetheless, the correspondences between the two are fairly regular. As a result, Sino-Japanese can be viewed as a (transformed) "snapshot" of an archaic period of the Chinese language, and as a result is very important for comparative linguists as it provides a large amount of evidence for the reconstruction of Middle Chinese.

The following is a rough guide to equivalencies between modern Chinese words and modern Sino-Japanese on'yomi readings.

Unless otherwise noted, in the list below, sounds shown in quotation marks or italics indicate the usage of non-IPA romanization such as Hanyu pinyin for Mandarin Chinese and Hepburn romanization for Japanese. Symbols shown within slashes or square brackets, like /ɡ/ or [dʒ], are IPA transcriptions.

  1. A major sound-shift has occurred in Mandarin since the time of modern contact with the West. Namely, the sounds written in Pinyin as "g" [k] or "k" [kʰ], when immediately preceding an "i", "y" or "ü" sound, became "j" ([tɕ], similar to English "j") or "q" ([tɕʰ], similar to English "ch"). This change is called palatalization. As a result, Peking (北京) changed to Běijīng, and Chungking (重慶) to Chóngqìng. This shift did not occur in Sino-Japanese. Thus, Mandarin (, 'breath, air, spirit') corresponds to Japanese ki. In some other varieties of Chinese, it is still pronounced as 'ki'. For example, in Southern Min is khì (Pe̍h-ōe-jī romanization). This is similar to the way the Latin ⟨C⟩, once always pronounced like an English ⟨K⟩, became closer to an English ⟨CH⟩ in Italian words where the ⟨C⟩ is followed by an ⟨E⟩ or ⟨I⟩, changing centum /kentum/ into cento /tʃento/.
  2. Old Japanese did not have an "-ng" or [ŋ] syllable ending, which is very common in Chinese. This sound was borrowed as either /i/ or /u/. The combinations /au/ and /eu/ later became "ō" and "yō", respectively, in Japanese. Thus, the Mandarin reading of "Tokyo" (東京; Eastern () Capital ()) is Dōngjīng; this corresponds to Japanese Tōkyō, with sound history for being supposed approximately *kiæŋ -> kyau -> kyō (for comparison: Southern Min (colloquial) is kiaⁿ with a nasal diphthong). Another example is 京城, former name for Seoul, which is Keijō in Japanese and Gyeongseong in Korean (which did and does have syllables ending in [ŋ]). is read "kei" (*kiæŋ -> kyei -> kei) in this case.
  3. As in the case of , the same character sometimes has multiple readings, e.g. "kyō" (Go-on) vs. "kei" (Kan-on) vs. "kin" (Tō-on). These stem from multiple phases of borrowing, which occurred at different times and from different source dialects and were carried out by different groups of people possibly speaking different dialects of Japanese. This means that the same word may have had different Chinese pronunciations, and even if not, the borrowers may have chosen different strategies to handle unfamiliar sounds. For example, the character seems to have had an approximate pronunciation of /kjæŋ/ at the time of both the Go-on (5th - 6th century AD) and Kan-on (7th - 9th century AD) borrowings; however, the unfamiliar vowel /æ/ was represented by /a/ in the former case and /e/ in the latter. (This may also indicate different source pronunciations of the vowel.) In addition, the unfamiliar final /ŋ/ was represented by /u/ in the former case but /i/ in the latter, agreeing in frontness vs. backness with the main vowel. By the time of the Tō-on borrowing (post-10th century), the pronunciation in Chinese had changed to /kiŋ/, thus the pronunciation "kin" was decided as the closest approximation.
  4. The vowels of Chinese sometimes correspond to Sino-Japanese in an apparently haphazard fashion. However, Mandarin "ao" often corresponds to Japanese "ō" (usually derived from earlier Sino-Japanese [au]), and Chinese empty rime [ɨ] (represented in pinyin with a "i") often corresponds to [i] (a different sound, also represented with a "i" in Hepburn) in Japanese.
  5. The distinction between voiced and unvoiced consonants ([d] vs. [t] or [b] vs. [p]) has been lost in modern Mandarin and many other varieties of Chinese. The key exception is in Wu dialects (呉語, e.g. Shanghainese). The Shanghainese voiced consonants match the Japanese go-on (呉音) readings nearly perfectly in terms of voicing. For example, 葡萄 (grape) is pronounced "budo" in Shanghainese and "budō" (< "budau") in Japanese (preserving the voiced consonants [b] and [d]), but "pútáo" in Mandarin. Incidentally, the rising tone of the Mandarin syllables may reflect the earlier voiced quality of the initial consonants.
  6. In modern Mandarin, all syllables end either in a vowel or in one of a small number of consonant sounds: "n", "ng", or occasionally "r". However, Middle Chinese, like several modern Chinese dialects (e.g. Yue, Hakka, Min), allowed several other final consonants including [p], [t], [k], and [m], and these are preserved in Sino-Japanese (except for -m, which is replaced by -n, as in , san, "three"). However, because Japanese phonology does not allow these consonants to appear at the end of a syllable either, they are usually followed in Sino-Japanese by an additional "i" or "u" vowel, resulting in a second syllable (-tsu or -chi if from -t, -ku or -ki if from -k, and -pu if from -p, although -pu became -fu and then simply -u). As a result, a one-syllable word in Chinese can become two syllables in Sino-Japanese. For example, Mandarin tiě (, 'iron') corresponds to Japanese tetsu (). This is still pronounced with a final [t] in Cantonese: /tʰiːt˧/ (Vietnamese thiết). Another example is Mandarin guó (, 'land'), from Early Middle Chinese /kwək/, corresponding to Japanese koku.
  7. The consonant "f" in Mandarin corresponds to both "h" and "b" in Japanese. Early Middle Chinese had no /f/, but instead had /pj/ or /bj/ (in other reconstructions, /pɥ/ or /bɥ/). Japanese still reflects this ("h" was /p/ in Old Japanese). For example, Mandarin ( 'Buddha') corresponds to Japanese butsu (); both reflect Early Middle Chinese /bjut/ from a still older form /but/. In modern Southern Min Chinese, this character may be pronounced either [put] or [hut] (colloquial and literary respectively).
  8. In addition, as in the previous example, Old Japanese /p/ became modern "h". When a Middle Chinese word ended in /p/, this produced further complications in Japanese. For example, Middle Chinese /dʑip/ 'ten' (Standard Mandarin "shí", Cantonese /sɐp/) was borrowed as Old Japanese /zipu/. In time this went through a series of changes: /zipu/ > /zihu/ > /ziu/ > /zjuː/[12] > "jū". Note that in some compounds, the word was directly borrowed as /zip-/ > "jip-"; hence "jippun" 'ten minutes' (or "juppun", influenced by "jū"), rather than "*jūfun".
  9. More complex is the archaic dento-labial nasal sound: The character ('strife, martial arts') was pronounced "mvu" in Late Middle Chinese. The sound is approximated in the Japanese pronunciations "bu" and "mu". However, that sound no longer exists in most modern Chinese dialects, except Southern Min "bú", and the character is pronounced "wǔ" in Mandarin, /mou˩˧/ in Cantonese, "vu" in Hakka, Shanghainese, and Vietnamese.
  10. The modern Mandarin initial "r" usually corresponds to "ny" or "ni" in Japanese. At the time of borrowing, characters such as ('person') and ('day'), which have an initial "r" sound in modern Mandarin, began with a palatal nasal consonant [ɲ] closely approximating French and Italian gn and Spanish ñ. (This distinction is still preserved in some Chinese varieties, such as Hakka and Shanghainese, as well as Vietnamese.) Thus Mandarin Rìběn (日本, Japan) corresponds to Japanese Nippon. This is also why the character , pronounced /ɲin/ in Middle Chinese, is pronounced "nin" in some contexts, as in ningen (人間), and "jin" in others, such as gaijin (外人)— approximating its more modern pronunciation. In Wu dialects, including Shanghainese, ('person') and ('two') are still pronounced "nin" and "ni", respectively. In Southern Min (especially Zhangzhou accent), is "jîn" (literary pronunciation) which is practically identical to Japanese On'yomi.
  11. In Middle Chinese, ('five') and similar characters were pronounced with a velar nasal consonant, "ng" ([ŋ]), as its initial. This is no longer true in modern Mandarin, but it remains the case in other Chinese dialects such as Cantonese (/ŋ̩˩˧/) and Shanghainese. Japanese approximates the Middle Chinese */ng/ with "g" or "go"; thus becomes "go". In Southern Min, it is pronounced /gɔ/ (colloquial) or /ŋɔ/ (literary) while in the Fuzhou dialect it is pronounced "ngu". In addition, some Japanese dialects have [ŋ] for medial g.
  12. The Mandarin "hu" sound (as in "huá" or "huī") does not exist in Japanese and is usually omitted, whereas the Mandarin "l" sound becomes "r" in Japanese. Thus, Mandarin Huángbò (黄檗) corresponds to Japanese Ōbaku, and Rúlái (如来) and lamian (拉麵) to Nyorai and ramen respectively.
  13. Mandarin "h", usually from Middle Chinese [x] or [ɣ] will often correspond to "k" or "g" in Japanese, as Old Japanese lacked velar fricatives: Modern Japanese [h] is derived from Old Japanese [ɸ], which descended in most cases from a Proto-Japonic */p/; however, this lack of velar fricatives in Old Japanese helps preserve the voiced-voiceless contrast between Middle Chinese [x] and [ɣ] that Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese has lost. Mandarin "z" will often correspond to Japanese "j"; these are also changes in Chinese. Thus, Mandarin hànzì (漢字) corresponds to Japanese kanji, hànwén (漢文, Chinese written language) to kanbun, and zuìhòu (最後 'last') to saigo.

Chart of correspondencesedit

Note:

  • MC: Middle Chinese
  • Pinyin: Modern Standard Chinese (Mandarin) in its official spelling. Multiple outcomes for MC initials (e.g. MC /ɡ/ > Pinyin g,j,k,q) are primarily due to two reasons:
    • MC voiced stops/affricates become Mandarin aspirated stops/affricates (p,t,k,etc.) when the syllable had the MC first tone (Mandarin first/second tones), unaspirated stops/affricates (b,d,g,etc.) otherwise.
    • Early Mandarin velar obstruents (g,k,h) and alveolar sibilants (z,c,s) become palatal obstruents (j,q,x) when a front vowel or glide followed.
  • Go: Go-on (呉音), from the Northern and Southern dynasties China or Baekje Korea during the 5th and 6th centuries. Go means Wu.
  • Kan: Kan-on (漢音), from the Tang dynasty during the 7th to 9th century.
  • Tō-on (唐音): Zen Buddhist borrowings from the Song dynasty (10th to 13th century) and after.

Initials:

PlacePhonation
VoicelessVoiced
UnaspiratedAspiratedObstruentSonorant
Labial
(bilabial · labiodental)
MC幫・非
[p] · [f]
滂・敷
[pʰ] · [fʰ]
並・奉
[b̥] · [v̥]
明・微
[m] · [ṽ]
Pinyinb · fp · fb,p · fm · w
Wup · fph · fb · vm · v
Go[p][ɸ][h][b][m]
Kan[p][ɸ][h][b]
([m] when the Tang source had coda [ŋ])
Coronal stop
(alveolar · retroflex)
MC端・知
[t] · [ʈ]
透・徹
[tʰ] · [ʈʰ]
定・澄
[d̥] · [ɖ̥]
泥・娘
[n] · [ɳ]
Pinyind · zht · chd,t · zh,chn · n
Wut · cth · chd · jn, ny · n, ny
Go[t][d][n]
Kan[t][d, z]
([n] when the Tang source had coda [ŋ])
LateralMC
[l]
Pinyinl
Wul
Go[ɽ]
Kan[ɽ]
Coronal sibilant
(alveolar · palatal, retroflex)
(affricate / fricative)
MC精・照
[ts] · [tɕ, tʂ]
清・穿
[tsʰ] · [tɕʰ, tʂʰ]
従・牀
[d̥z̥] · [d̥ʑ̊, d̥ʐ̊]
心・審
[s] · [ɕ, ʂ]
邪・禅
[z̥] · [ʑ̊, ʐ̊]
Pinyinz,j · zhc,q · chz,j,c,q · zh,ch
s,x · shs,x · sh
Wuts · ctsh · chdz · dzh
s · shz · zh
Go[s][z]
Kan[s]
Palatal nasalMC
[ɲ]
Pinyinr
Wuny
Go[n]
Kan[z]
Velar stopMC
[k]

[kʰ]

[ɡ̊]

[ŋ]
Pinying,jk,qg,j,k,qw, y, ∅
Wukkhgng, n
Go[k][ɡ]
Kan[k][ɡ]
GlottalMC
[ʔ]

(null)
Pinyin(null),y,wy,w
Wu∅, gh
Go(null) or [j] or [w][j] or [w]
Kan(null) or [j] or [w][j] or [w]
Velar fricativeMC
[x]

[ɣ̊]
Pinyinh,xh,x
Wuhgh
Go[k][ɡ] or [w]
Kan[k][k]

Finals:

MCPinyinWuGoKanTō-onin some compounds
/m/nn, ∅/ɴ/
/n/n
/ŋ/ngn[ũ~ĩ] > /u, i//ɴ/?? same as not in compound ??
/p/(null)ʔ/pu/ > /ɸu/ > /u//Q/
/t/(null)/ti/ [tɕi], /tu/ [tsu]/tu/ [tsu]??/Q/
/k/(null)after front vowel, /ki/; after back vowel, /ku/??/Q/

Examplesedit

Notes:

CharacterMeaningMiddle ChineseWuMandarin PinyinCantonese (Yue)Go-onKan-on
oneʔjitihjat1ichi < *itiitsu < *itu
twonyijH /ɲij³/nyièr < */ʐr/ < */ʐi/ji2niji < *zi
threesamsaesānsaam1san
foursijH /sij³/sysei3shi < *si
fivenguX /ŋu²/ngng5go
sixljuwklohliùluk6rokuriku
seventshit /tsʰit/tshihcat1shichi < *sitishitsu < *situ
eightpɛtpahbaat3hachi < *patihatsu < *patu
ninekjuwX /kjuw²/kieujiǔgau2kukyū < *kiu
tendzyip /dʑip/dzhehshísap6jū < *zipushū < *sipu
northpokpohběibak1hoku < *poku
西westsejsisai1saisei
easttuwng /tuwŋ/tondōngdung1tsu < *tutō < *tou
capitalkjæng /kjæŋ/kinjīngging1kyō < *kyaukei
personnyin /ɲin/nyinrénjan4ninjin < *zin
sunnyit /ɲit/nyihjat6nichi < *niti; ni?? jitsu < *zitu
base, originpwonX /pwon²/penběnbun2?? hon < *pon
updzyangX /dʑaŋ²/, dzyangH /dʑaŋ³/dzhaonshàngsoeng6jō < *zyaushō < *syau
downhæX /ɦæ²,ɣæ²/, hæH /ɦæ³,ɣæ³/ghoxiàhaa5geka

See alsoedit

Notesedit

  1. ^ As measured by the National Institute for Japanese Language in its study of language use in NHK broadcasts from April to June 1989.[2]
  2. ^ a b before an MC coda /ŋ/
  3. ^ Baxter represents this MC initial with <y> to distinguish it from the palatal glide <j> which appears at the beginning of many rimes. Karlgren distinguishes them as <j> and <i̯>.
  4. ^ The hiragana seen here did not develop until later from man'yōgana.
  5. ^ /kwe, gwe/ were originally indicated in the historical spelling, but are not used in the version that became standard.
  6. ^ Ancient spellings with /ye/ are not given in most dictionaries, and the tables below will not attempt to distinguish between on'yomi originally pronounced with /ye/ vs. /e/.
  7. ^ There is at least one example of ancient /kwyo/: 洫 くゐよく /kwyoku/.
  8. ^ The Dai Kan-Wa Jiten treats the kana for /twi, dwi, swi, zwi, rwi, ywi/ as historical spellings, but all other sources treat them only as ancient.

Referencesedit

  1. ^ Shibatani, Masayoshi. The Languages of Japan (Section 7.2 "Loan words", p.142), Cambridge University Press, 1990. ISBN 0-521-36918-5
  2. ^ a b 国立国語研究所『テレビ放送の語彙調査I』(平成7年,秀英出版)Kokuritsu Kokugo Kenkyuujo, "Terebi Hoosoo no Goi Choosa 1" (1995, Shuuei Publishing)
  3. ^ Baxter-Sagart Old Chinese reconstruction, version 1.0 Archived 2011-08-14 at the Wayback Machine, also available at Wiktionary; see also Baxter's transcription for Middle Chinese
  4. ^ Chung, Karen S. (2001). "Chapter 7: Some Returned Loans: Japanese Loanwords in Taiwan Mandarin". In McAuley, T. E (ed.). Language change in East Asia. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon. pp. 161–163. ISBN 0700713778.
  5. ^ Chung (2001), p. 161.
  6. ^ Chung (2001), p. 162.
  7. ^ a b Frellesvig, Bjarke (2010). A History of the Japanese Language. Cambridge University Press. p. 276. ISBN 978-0-521-65320-6.
  8. ^ Frellesvig (2010), p. 280.
  9. ^ a b c Frellesvig (2010), p. 170.
  10. ^ Frellesvig (2010), p. 173.
  11. ^ Frellesvig (2010), p. 37.
  12. ^ Martin, Samuel Elmo (1987), The Japanese language through time, Yale University Press, cited in Cécile Fougeron; Barbara Kuehnert; Mariapaola Imperio; Nathalie Vallee (31 August 2010). Laboratory Phonology 10. Walter de Gruyter. p. 207. ISBN 978-3-11-022491-7.

Further readingedit

External linksedit

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