仮名

From Old Japanese. Compound of 仮 (kari, “borrowing; provisional thing”, cognate with verb 借る karu, “to borrow”, the Old Japanese form of modern 借りる kariru) +‎ 字 (na, “name, character”), from the way that Chinese characters were borrowed for their phonetic values to spell out the sounds of native Japanese words.[1][2]

In contrast to 真名 (mana, “true name, true character”), a synonym for 漢字 (kanji), indicating Chinese characters used for the meaning instead of for their sound.[1][2]

• 仮字 (rare)

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) かりな [kàríná] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠ɾʲina̠]

仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 假名, hiragana かりな, rōmaji karina)

1. a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
2. a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana
3. a temporary name, an alias

/karina/ → /kanna/

Contraction of karina above.

• 仮字 (rare)

• (Irregular reading)
  • IPA^(key): [kã̠nːa̠]

仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 假名, hiragana かんな, rōmaji kanna)

1. a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
2. a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana

/karina/ → /kanna/ → /kana/

Contraction of kanna above. The reading may appear to be jūbakoyomi, but is instead actually an irregular development of the kun'yomi.

• 仮字 (rare)

• (Irregular reading)
  • (Tokyo) かな [kàná] (Heiban – [0])[3][2][4]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠na̠]

仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 假名, hiragana かな, rōmaji kana)

1. a category of Japanese syllabary scripts: kana
2. a syllabogram, an individual character belonging to one of the syllabaries: kana
   • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho (page 86)

     Cana. カナ (仮名・仮字) 日本の文字の一種. Cananiyù. (仮名に言ふ) 皆の人がわかるように, やさしく話す.

From Middle Chinese 假名 (kæ^X mjieng, literally “borrowed; false + name”). Kan'on, so probably a somewhat later borrowing from Chinese. Compare modern Cantonese reading gaa² meng^4-2.

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) かめー [kàméé] (Heiban – [0])[3][2][4]
  • IPA^(key): [ka̠me̞ː]

仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 假名, hiragana かめい, rōmaji kamei)

1. an assumed name: an alias, sobriquet, pen name

/kemjau/ → /kemjɔː/ → /kemjoː/

From Middle Chinese 假名 (kæ^X mjieng, literally “borrowed; false + name”). Goon, so probably an earlier borrowing from Chinese. Compare modern Min Nan reading ké-miâ.

The Buddhist sense derives from use of this term in Chinese as a translation of the Sanskrit term प्रज्ञप्ति (prajñapti, “appointing → provisional naming”), used in some Buddhist schools to refer to the practice of conceptualising and naming things that are not real.

• On’yomi: Goon
  • (Tokyo) けみょー [kèmyóó] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [ke̞mʲo̞ː]

仮名 (shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai kanji 假名, hiragana けみょう, rōmaji kemyō, historical hiragana けみやう)

1. an assumed name: an alias, sobriquet, pen name
2. in feudal Japan, a public name given to boys upon coming of age, after which their birth names would be kept private
3. a provisional name given to someone when the real name is unknown: compare English Jane Doe, John Doe
4. (Buddhism) the conceptualisation and provisional naming of things that are not real; something so named

• Doi, Tadao (1603–1604) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1980, ISBN 978-4-00-080021-1.