How do you spell jisho in hiragana?

Etymology 1Edit

A repurposing of older term 辞書 (jisho, letter of resignation, see below), based on a reanalysis of the constituent characters 辞 (ji, resignation, quitting; word) + 書 (sho, writing, record, document, book). Influenced by Middle Chinese-derived term 辞典 (jiten, dictionary), wherein the 辞 character expresses the meaning word from Middle Chinese 辭 (zi), instead of the meaning resignation or quitting from Middle Chinese 辤 (zi). Note that both of these older character forms were later conflated in both Japanese and Chinese into the simplified version 辞, with the word meaning becoming dominant in Chinese.

First appearance in Japanese with the dictionary sense might be the 1595 publication by the Jesuits of the 羅葡日辞書 (Ra-Ho-Nichi Jisho, Latin-Portuguese-Japanese Dictionary), alternate title Dictionarium Latino Lusitanicum, ac Iaponicum.[1]

Compare modern Mandarin 辭書 (císhū, dictionary, lexicon), possibly reborrowed from or otherwise influenced by the Japanese.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

辞(じ)書(しょ) (jisho) (kyūjitai 辭書)

1. a dictionary (publication that explains the meanings of an ordered list of words)

SynonymsEdit

See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

From Middle Chinese compound 辤書 (zi syo, literally quit + writing).

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

辞(じ)書(しょ) (jisho) (kyūjitai 辤書)

SynonymsEdit

Etymology 3Edit

The 直音表記 (chokuon hyōki, literally straight-sound spelling) of jisho above. Most common from the Heian through the Muromachi periods.[5]

It is unclear if the pronunciation itself also shifted, or just the spelling.

PronunciationEdit

NounEdit

辞(じ)書(そ) (jiso) (kyūjitai 辤書)

ReferencesEdit