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Wago

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As exhibited in the synonyms yamato kotoba/wago, there are often many synonyms from different origins, usually with differences in usage. Very roughly, kango are generally more formal, often restricted to writing, while yamato kotoba are more casual and more often used in speech, but both types of
262:) in English – while borrowed words are used for many technical terms (particularly kango, as with Latin and Greek in English), or for modern or stylish purposes (mostly gairaigo, as with French in English), much of the core vocabulary and commonly used everyday words are of native origin. 524:, with the meanings of the kanji used corresponding to the meaning of the word. However, the word may be written in hiragana, particularly if the kanji are uncommon. Further, some yamato kotoba are written using unrelated kanji (used only for their sound value), which is known as 425:
For most purposes, Japanese uses Chinese numbers, rather than native numbers. However, native numbers are often used for counting numbers of items up to 10 – as in hitotsu, futatsu, mittsu (one item, two items, three items), notably days on the calendar, and with other
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Yamato kotoba are generally polysyllabic (often three or more syllables), and more closely follow the CV (consonant-vowel, CVCVCV) pattern of Old Japanese. By contrast, kango are often one or two syllables, and more often have terminal consonants,
516:. Grammatical words are written using hiragana (there is often a traditional kanji, which is today rarely used), as are the inflectional ends of verbs and adjectives, which are known as 411:), which are formed from native verbs, not borrowings. However, in nouns, native Japanese roots and Chinese borrowings (and in some cases more modern European borrowings) can combine. 312:
Yamato kotoba function differently grammatically than borrowed words. While borrowed words can be nouns, which can function as verbs via adding the auxiliary verb
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Katakana is generally not used for yamato kotoba, but can be used for emphasis (especially for mimetic words), and for legibility when spelling out a word.
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Yamato kotoba form a fundamental part of the Japanese lexicon, similar to native words (from
63: 34: 1792: 1615: 1519: 1393: 1195: 1130: 644: 520:. Content words (nouns, roots of verbs and adjectives) are generally written in kanji with 8: 1841: 1723: 1695: 1610: 1190: 203: 1135: 1871: 1812: 1733: 1620: 1554: 1439: 1152: 894: 247: 1140: 976: 925: 528:, or using kanji whose meaning is correct but whose sounds are not, which is known as 386:
Japanese adjectives and grammatical words (notably particles) are also Yamato kotoba.
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The word "yamato kotoba" itself is composed of native Japanese words, and hence is an
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The Languages of Japan (Section 7.2 "Loan words", p.142)
345:, borrowed words cannot become true Japanese verbs ( 266:
words are commonly used in both speech and writing.
29:"Yamato kotoba" redirects here. For the poetry, see 70:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. 1891: 508:Yamato kotoba are often written in a mixture of 493: 477: 461: 443: 313: 211: 145: 487: 471: 455: 437: 406: 400: 394: 374: 368: 358: 352: 346: 337: 328: 320: 286: 280: 274: 222: 202:), they form one of the three main sources of 197: 187: 154: 605: 210:, of mimetic origin). They are also known as 612: 598: 130:Learn how and when to remove this message 434:). These exceptions include 20 years old 367:(with rare exceptions, such as the verb 307: 14: 1892: 373:, from the French word "sabotage," or 619: 593: 228: 163: 575:, Cambridge University Press, 1990. 399:(machi-awaseru, to rendezvous, from 68:adding citations to reliable sources 39: 253: 24: 25: 1911: 246:is instead a kango, and hence a 44: 279:(yama-shita, mountain-bottom), 55:needs additional citations for 562: 430:– and for various exceptions ( 178:that have been inherited from 174:words, meaning those words in 33:. For the German company, see 13: 1: 555: 1756:Kanji pronunciation sources 1530:Katakana Phonetic Extensions 294: 7: 1865:Speculative fiction writers 1424:Transcription into Japanese 538: 498:, literally "big 30th day") 494: 478: 462: 444: 314: 212: 146: 10: 1916: 783:Nagano-Yamanashi-Shizuoka 503: 484:, and last day of the year 418: 414: 389:Japanese has a great many 28: 1840: 1780: 1732: 1574: 1432: 1374: 1316: 1251: 1242: 1151: 1126: 1117: 1069: 1042: 965: 839: 667: 658: 627: 488: 472: 456: 452:, the 20th day of a month 438: 407: 401: 395: 375: 369: 363:-adjectives) – these are 359: 353: 347: 338: 329: 321: 287: 281: 275: 223: 206:(there is also elaborate 198: 188: 155: 1650:Sino-Japanese vocabulary 1109:Yokohama Pidgin Japanese 550:Sino-Japanese vocabulary 482:, literally "800 store") 285:(oo-oka, big-hill), and 208:Japanese sound symbolism 1596:Godan and ichidan verbs 1414:Jōdai Tokushu Kanazukai 357:-verbs) or adjectives ( 230:[jamatokoꜜtoba] 161:Japanese pronunciation: 568:Shibatani, Masayoshi. 428:Japanese counter words 35:WAGO GmbH & Co. KG 1701:Court lady language ( 1171:Southern Amami Ōshima 1104:Yilan Creole Japanese 327:or attributively via 142:Native Japanese words 1520:Small Kana Extension 1131:Eastern Old Japanese 770:Northern Izu Islands 308:Grammatical function 64:improve this article 1071:Pidgins and creoles 304:, and long vowels. 1872:Classical Japanese 1719:Gender differences 1555:Extended shinjitai 248:heterological word 1900:Japanese language 1887: 1886: 1591:Verb conjugations 1570: 1569: 1238: 1237: 1119:Japonic languages 1065: 1064: 1057:Okinawan Japanese 621:Japanese language 421:Japanese numerals 140: 139: 132: 114: 16:(Redirected from 1907: 1830:Polivanov system 1691:Honorific speech 1586:Japanese grammar 1249: 1248: 1124: 1123: 665: 664: 614: 607: 600: 591: 590: 584: 566: 499: 497: 491: 490: 483: 481: 475: 474: 467: 465: 459: 458: 451: 450: 447: 441: 440: 410: 409: 404: 403: 398: 397: 378: 377: 372: 371: 362: 361: 356: 355: 350: 349: 341: 340: 332: 331: 326: 324: 323: 317: 290: 289: 284: 283: 278: 277: 254:Lexical function 240:autological word 234: 232: 226: 225: 219: 201: 200: 191: 190: 169: 167: 162: 158: 157: 151: 135: 128: 124: 121: 115: 113: 72: 48: 40: 21: 1915: 1914: 1910: 1909: 1908: 1906: 1905: 1904: 1890: 1889: 1888: 1883: 1836: 1781:Transliteration 1776: 1752:Sound symbolism 1728: 1710:Role language ( 1669:from Portuguese 1601:Irregular verbs 1579: 1577: 1566: 1515:Kana Supplement 1510:Kana Extended-B 1505:Kana Extended-A 1428: 1404:Historical kana 1370: 1312: 1291:by stroke count 1282:Kanji radicals 1276:by stroke count 1234: 1147: 1113: 1089:Hawaiian Creole 1061: 1038: 961: 835: 654: 623: 618: 588: 587: 567: 563: 558: 541: 506: 485: 469: 453: 448: 435: 423: 417: 318: 310: 297: 256: 220: 165:[waꜜɡo] 160: 152: 143: 136: 125: 119: 116: 73: 71: 61: 49: 38: 23: 22: 15: 12: 11: 5: 1913: 1903: 1902: 1885: 1884: 1882: 1881: 1880: 1879: 1869: 1868: 1867: 1857: 1852: 1846: 1844: 1838: 1837: 1835: 1834: 1833: 1832: 1822: 1821: 1820: 1815: 1810: 1805: 1800: 1795: 1784: 1782: 1778: 1777: 1775: 1774: 1773: 1772: 1767: 1762: 1754: 1749: 1744: 1738: 1736: 1730: 1729: 1727: 1726: 1721: 1716: 1707: 1698: 1693: 1688: 1683: 1678: 1673: 1672: 1671: 1666: 1652: 1647: 1641:Native words ( 1638: 1633: 1628: 1623: 1618: 1613: 1608: 1603: 1598: 1593: 1588: 1582: 1580: 1575: 1572: 1571: 1568: 1567: 1565: 1564: 1563: 1562: 1557: 1552: 1547: 1542: 1534: 1533: 1532: 1527: 1522: 1517: 1512: 1507: 1502: 1494: 1493: 1492: 1487: 1482: 1477: 1472: 1467: 1459: 1458: 1457: 1449: 1448: 1447: 1436: 1434: 1430: 1429: 1427: 1426: 1421: 1416: 1411: 1406: 1401: 1396: 1391: 1390: 1389: 1378: 1376: 1372: 1371: 1369: 1368: 1363: 1358: 1353: 1348: 1343: 1338: 1333: 1328: 1322: 1320: 1314: 1313: 1311: 1310: 1305: 1300: 1295: 1294: 1293: 1288: 1280: 1279: 1278: 1268: 1263: 1257: 1255: 1246: 1244:Writing system 1240: 1239: 1236: 1235: 1233: 1232: 1231: 1230: 1225: 1220: 1215: 1205: 1204: 1203: 1198: 1193: 1188: 1183: 1178: 1173: 1168: 1157: 1155: 1149: 1148: 1146: 1145: 1144: 1143: 1133: 1127: 1121: 1115: 1114: 1112: 1111: 1106: 1101: 1099:Pseudo-Chinese 1096: 1091: 1086: 1081: 1079:Bamboo English 1075: 1073: 1067: 1066: 1063: 1062: 1060: 1059: 1054: 1052:Amami Japanese 1048: 1046: 1040: 1039: 1037: 1036: 1029: 1028: 1027: 1022: 1017: 1012: 1007: 1006: 1005: 988: 987: 986: 973: 971: 963: 962: 960: 959: 952: 951: 950: 949: 948: 940: 939: 938: 923: 922: 921: 916: 911: 899: 898: 897: 892: 887: 882: 870: 869: 868: 867: 866: 863: 847: 845: 837: 836: 834: 833: 832: 831: 830: 829: 824: 819: 814: 806: 805: 804: 796: 795: 794: 789: 774: 773: 772: 767: 766: 765: 760: 752: 751: 750: 745: 740: 725: 724: 723: 722: 721: 716: 708: 707: 706: 701: 696: 681: 675: 673: 662: 656: 655: 653: 652: 647: 642: 637: 631: 629: 625: 624: 617: 616: 609: 602: 594: 586: 585: 560: 559: 557: 554: 553: 552: 547: 540: 537: 505: 502: 419:Main article: 416: 413: 391:compound verbs 309: 306: 296: 293: 271:Japanese names 255: 252: 242:. The synonym 204:Japanese words 141: 138: 137: 120:September 2011 52: 50: 43: 9: 6: 4: 3: 2: 1912: 1901: 1898: 1897: 1895: 1878: 1875: 1874: 1873: 1870: 1866: 1863: 1862: 1861: 1858: 1856: 1853: 1851: 1848: 1847: 1845: 1843: 1839: 1831: 1828: 1827: 1826: 1825:Cyrillization 1823: 1819: 1816: 1814: 1813:Wāpuro rōmaji 1811: 1809: 1806: 1804: 1801: 1799: 1796: 1794: 1791: 1790: 1789: 1786: 1785: 1783: 1779: 1771: 1768: 1766: 1763: 1761: 1758: 1757: 1755: 1753: 1750: 1748: 1745: 1743: 1740: 1739: 1737: 1735: 1731: 1725: 1722: 1720: 1717: 1715: 1713: 1708: 1706: 1704: 1699: 1697: 1694: 1692: 1689: 1687: 1684: 1682: 1679: 1677: 1674: 1670: 1667: 1665: 1662: 1661: 1660: 1658: 1653: 1651: 1648: 1646: 1644: 1643:yamato kotoba 1639: 1637: 1634: 1632: 1631:Counter words 1629: 1627: 1624: 1622: 1619: 1617: 1614: 1612: 1609: 1607: 1604: 1602: 1599: 1597: 1594: 1592: 1589: 1587: 1584: 1583: 1581: 1573: 1561: 1558: 1556: 1553: 1551: 1548: 1546: 1543: 1541: 1538: 1537: 1535: 1531: 1528: 1526: 1523: 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forms 626: 622: 615: 610: 608: 603: 601: 596: 595: 592: 583: 582: 581:0-521-36918-5 578: 573: 572: 565: 561: 551: 548: 546: 543: 542: 536: 533: 531: 527: 523: 519: 515: 511: 501: 496: 480: 468:, greengrocer 464: 446: 433: 429: 422: 412: 392: 387: 384: 382: 379:, from "(to) 366: 344: 335: 316: 305: 303: 292: 272: 267: 263: 261: 251: 249: 245: 241: 236: 231: 218: 217: 216: 215:yamato kotoba 209: 205: 195: 185: 181: 177: 173: 166: 150: 149: 134: 131: 123: 112: 109: 105: 102: 98: 95: 91: 88: 84: 81: –  80: 76: 75:Find sources: 69: 65: 59: 58: 53:This article 51: 47: 42: 41: 36: 32: 31:Waka (poetry) 27: 19: 18:Yamato kotoba 1818:In Esperanto 1788:Romanization 1742:Pitch accent 1724:Dictionaries 1711: 1703:nyōbō kotoba 1702: 1656: 1655:Loan words ( 1642: 1626:Topic marker 1540:ARIB STD B24 1286:by frequency 1166:Amami Ōshima 1043: 1032: 991: 977: 967: 955: 942:East San'in 926: 902: 873: 851: 841: 777: 728: 684: 669: 650:Early Modern 640:Early Middle 574: 570: 564: 534: 507: 424: 388: 385: 365:closed class 342: 333: 311: 298: 268: 264: 257: 243: 237: 214: 213: 180:Old Japanese 147: 144: 126: 117: 107: 100: 93: 86: 74: 62:Please help 57:verification 54: 26: 1798:Nihon-shiki 1681:Wasei-kango 1616:Possessives 1576:Grammar and 1409:Modern kana 1394:Punctuation 1375:Orthography 1196:Tokunoshima 808:Gifu-Aichi 778:Tōkai–Tōsan 645:Late Middle 260:Old English 170:are native 1842:Literature 1712:yakuwarigo 1696:Honorifics 1676:Wasei-eigo 1664:from Dutch 1611:Adjectives 1578:vocabulary 1356:Hentaigana 1351:Man'yōgana 1191:Okinoerabu 895:Okuyoshino 556:References 393:, such as 325:, (to) do) 90:newspapers 1734:Phonology 1621:Particles 1560:Half/Full 1490:Shift JIS 1419:Yotsugana 1399:Kanazukai 1341:Okurigana 1253:Logograms 865:Shiramine 710:Southern 690:Northern 530:jukujikun 518:okurigana 295:Phonology 1894:Category 1657:gairaigo 1636:Numerals 1606:Pronouns 1545:Enclosed 1525:Katakana 1500:Hiragana 1496:Unicode 1451:ISO/IEC 1433:Encoding 1336:Furigana 1331:Katakana 1326:Hiragana 1228:Yonaguni 1208:Southern 1186:Okinawan 1181:Kunigami 1161:Northern 1153:Ryukyuan 1094:Kyowa-go 1025:Tsushima 1015:Nagasaki 1010:Kumamoto 998:Chikuzen 862:Kanazawa 852:Hokuriku 787:Shizuoka 754:Eastern 743:Kanagawa 734:Western 679:Hokkaidō 660:Dialects 545:Gairaigo 539:See also 522:kun'yomi 514:hiragana 194:gairaigo 176:Japanese 172:Japanese 1860:Writers 1793:Hepburn 1747:Rendaku 1686:Engrish 1382:Braille 1303:Ryakuji 1223:Yaeyama 1141:grammar 1136:Hachijō 1033:Satsugū 992:Hichiku 978:Hōnichi 932:San'yō 927:Chūgoku 903:Shikoku 842:Western 802:Nagaoka 798:Echigo 763:Tochigi 758:Ibaraki 719:Nairiku 699:Tsugaru 670:Eastern 504:Writing 495:ōmisoka 463:hatsuka 445:hatachi 432:fossils 415:Numbers 104:scholar 1855:Poetry 1803:Kunrei 1765:Kan-on 1536:Other 1445:EUC-JP 1361:Sōgana 1346:Gojūon 1298:Kokuji 1266:Kanbun 1218:Tarama 1213:Miyako 1003:Hakata 968:Kyūshū 956:Umpaku 919:Sanuki 885:Banshū 874:Kansai 817:Mikawa 812:Nagoya 792:Narada 685:Tōhoku 579:  396:待ち合わせる 381:google 192:) and 106:  99:  92:  85:  79:"Wago" 77:  1877:texts 1850:Books 1770:Tō-on 1760:Go-on 1387:Kanji 1308:Ateji 1271:Kanji 1201:Yoron 1176:Kikai 1044:Other 946:Inshū 936:Bingo 890:Kishū 880:Awaji 748:Tokyo 738:Gunma 729:Kantō 714:Kesen 704:Akita 694:Nanbu 526:ateji 510:kanji 479:yaoya 351:- or 315:-suru 184:kango 111:JSTOR 97:books 1485:0213 1480:0212 1475:0211 1470:0208 1465:0201 1461:JIS 1455:2022 1318:Kana 1020:Saga 984:Ōita 914:Tosa 858:Kaga 827:Hida 822:Mino 577:ISBN 512:and 408:合わせる 383:"). 302:yōon 244:wago 224:大和言葉 148:Wago 83:news 1808:JSL 1550:EIS 1440:EUC 909:Iyo 635:Old 489:大晦日 473:八百屋 457:二十日 439:二十歳 376:ググる 370:サボる 343:-no 336:or 334:-na 322:〜する 269:In 199:外来語 66:by 1896:: 532:. 500:. 492:, 476:, 460:, 442:, 405:+ 402:待つ 339:〜の 330:〜な 288:小林 282:大岡 276:山下 250:. 235:. 227:, 189:漢語 159:, 156:和語 1714:) 1705:) 1659:) 1645:) 613:e 606:t 599:v 486:( 470:( 466:) 454:( 449:) 436:( 360:い 354:る 348:う 319:( 233:) 221:( 196:( 186:( 168:) 153:( 133:) 127:( 122:) 118:( 108:· 101:· 94:· 87:· 60:. 37:. 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Yamato kotoba
Waka (poetry)
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[waꜜɡo]
Japanese
Japanese
Old Japanese
kango
gairaigo
Japanese words
Japanese sound symbolism
[jamatokoꜜtoba]
autological word
heterological word
Old English
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