御中

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
なか
Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Compound of (o-, honorific prefix) + (naka, inside; middle). Originally coined as a 女房詞 (nyōbō kotoba, woman's word).[1][2]

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Noun

御中 (hiragana おなか, rōmaji onaka)

  1. Alternative spelling of お腹: belly, tummy, stomach, abdomen
  2. a meal, especially of rice (from the way that the main serving dish would be placed in the (naka, middle) of the table)
  3. cotton batting (from the way that batting was used in the (naka, inside) of cushions and quilts)
  4. (historical) the title of a maid working in the inner part of a samurai family's house during the Muromachi period

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
おん
Grade: S
ちゅう
Grade: 1
yutōyomi

Compound of (on-, honorific prefix) + (chū, inside; middle).[1][2]

Pronunciation

Pronoun

御中 (hiragana おんちゅう, rōmaji onchū)

  1. (formal) dear sirs, Messrs. (form of address used in formal letters, placed after the name of the organization to address members of that organization)
    三菱重工 (みつびしじゅうこう) (おん) (ちゅう)
    Mitsubishi Jūkō onchū
    Messrs. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries / Dear sirs at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries []

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
ちゅう
Grade: 1
yutōyomi

Compound of (o-, honorific prefix) + (chū, inside; middle).[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

御中 (hiragana おちゅう, rōmaji ochū)

  1. (historical) a kind of hairstyle worn by women of the nobility in the late Edo period as a simplification of the 大垂髪 (ōsuberakashi) style, with no (kanzashi, ornamental hairpin) or other adornment, and with the long hair of an additional hairpiece allowed to hang loose in back

References

  1. 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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