懐かしい

Japanese

Kanji in this term
なつ
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology

Originally derived from verb 懐く (natsuku, to get used to and keep close; to become fond of)[1][2][3], itself an abbreviation of 馴れ付く (naretsuku) of the same meaning.[1] The adjective originally described wanting to keep something close, wanting to express fondness for something. Over time, this term was used more to describe reminiscences, leading to the modern meaning.[1]

Pronunciation

Adjective

懐かしい (-i inflection, hiragana なつかしい, rōmaji natsukashii)

  1. nostalgic, reminiscent of good memories, missed, longed for, yearned after
  2. (archaic) dear, beloved, cherished, sweet

Inflection

Usage notes

The second meaning of 懐かしい is largely equivalent to a verb in English, even though it functions grammatically as an adjective. In this regard it is quite similar to the adjective 好き (suki, liked). In Japanese, to express a yearning for something, or a slightly nostalgic feeling of missing something, you modify the object that is missed (such as home, one's old neighborhood, one's friend, one's cat) with 懐かしい. In this regard, Japanese is quite unlike English.

Derived terms

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. 1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  4. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN
  5. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.