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Classical Japanese

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The classical Japanese language (Template:Nihongo2, bungo, "literary language"), also called Template:Nihongo and sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese", is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the early Shōwa period (1926–1989). It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken during the Heian period (794–1185), but exhibits some later influences. Its use started to decline during the late Meiji period (1868–1912) when novelists started writing their works in the spoken form. Eventually, the spoken style came into widespread use, including in major newspapers, but many official documents were still written in the old style. After the end of World War II, most documents switched to the spoken style, although the classical style continues to be used in traditional genres, such as haiku and waka. Old laws are also left in the classical style unless fully revised.

The terms {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (bungo, "written language") and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (kōgo, "spoken language") are still used for classical and modern Japanese,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> respectively. Their literal meanings are only historical, as classical Japanese is no longer used, while modern Japanese is the only current written language, despite its name. These terms are often used in descriptions of grammar to distinguish classical and modern inflections. For example, the bungo inflection of the verb 書く (kaku, "to write") is quadrigrade (kaka, kaki, kaku, kake), but its kōgo inflection is quinquegrade due to a historical sound change (kaka, kakō < kakau < kakamu, kaki, kaku, kake).

HistoryEdit

Classical Japanese began to be written during the Heian period, at which point it was very similar to spoken Japanese. It became the written standard for the Japanese language for many centuries, though the spoken language continued to evolve and by the Edo period was substantially different from classical Japanese.<ref name="komai">Komai, Akira. (1983) "Classical Japanese" Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan Volume 1 pp.321–322.</ref> This is known as diglossia, a situation in which two forms of a language, in this case a written and spoken form, coexist.<ref>Árokay, Judit. (2014) "Discourse on Poetic Languages in Early Modern Japan and the Awareness of Linguistic Change" Divided Languages? eds. Judit Árokay, Jadranka Gvozdanović, and Darja Miyajima p.88.</ref> During the Meiji period, some intellectuals sought the abolition of classical Japanese, such as the Genbun Itchi movement, which proposed that written Japanese conform to the vernacular spoken language. Futabatei Shimei's 1887 novel The Drifting Cloud was one of the first novels to be written in vernacular Japanese rather than classical. By 1908, novels no longer used classical Japanese, and by the 1920s the same was true of all newspapers.<ref>Neustupny, JV. (1983) "Gembun Itchi" Kodansha Encyclopedia of Japan Volume 3 p.16.</ref> Government documents remained in classical Japanese until 1946.<ref>Trantor, Nicholas and Kizu, Mika. (2012) "Modern Japanese" The Languages of Japan and Korea ed. Nicolas Trantor p.268.</ref> Classical Japanese continues to be taught in Japanese high schools and universities due to its importance in the study of traditional Japanese literature.<ref name="komai"/>

OrthographyEdit

Classical Japanese is written in an orthography that differs from modern Japanese in two major ways. These are the usage of old character forms (Template:Nihongo2, kyūjitai) and historical kana usage (Template:Nihongo2, rekishi-teki kana-zukai).

Template:NihongoEdit

Old character forms are the forms of Chinese characters (Template:Nihongo2, kanji) used in Japan before the post-World War II spelling reforms there. The modern, simplified characters are called Template:Nihongo.

A few examples follow, with the old characters on the left and the new characters on the right:

The kana spelling of a kanji is not unique; e.g. in modern Japanese, note the difference in the reading of Template:Nihongo2 between Template:Nihongo2 (Template:Nihongo2, "physical body") and Template:Nihongo2 (Template:Nihongo2, "forms of government"). The above spelling differences are etymological. For example, Template:Nihongo2 is just a native Japanese word labeled by a Chinese character with similar meaning, while Template:Nihongo2 is totally a new word derived from the combination of original meanings of two Chinese characters ({{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "politics" and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} means "body").

In cases like those of the first two, the entire original character has essentially been replaced by a new one, independent of the original's etymology. This type, however, is relatively rare. Another approach is to essentially replace the character with a piece of it, sometimes slightly altered, as in the third and fourth characters. Finally, probably the most common type of simplification is to change one component of the character to reduce the number of strokes and/or make it easier to write, a strategy exemplified by the fifth and sixth examples. Note that, as in the case of the sixth character, the simplification may be very subtle.

In general, old character forms are identical to their traditional Chinese counterparts, but there are some exceptions. For the seventh example character (Template:Nihongo2), the traditional and simplified Japanese versions coexisted as different forms of the same traditional character in Modern Chinese, while in Japan, what is now the new character form was at that time considered a variant and rarely used. And in a few cases, like that of the eighth character (Template:Nihongo2), the old character form has always been considered a rare variant in Modern Chinese. (However, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} are actually the formal forms in Middle Chinese and Old Chinese.)

Template:NihongoEdit

Historical kana usage is the system of kana (i.e., phonetic character) writing used in Japan before the post-war reforms. More specifically, it is the version of kana orthography standardized in the Meiji Period (since before that time kana usage was not standardized). It is, broadly speaking, based on the pronunciation of Japanese in the Heian Period, the time-frame in which Early Middle Japanese (on which the grammar of classical Japanese is based) was spoken. There are several differences between historical kana usage—which is also referred to as Template:Nihongo—and the modern kana orthography, called Template:Nihongo or Template:Nihongo. Some of these differences apply primarily to Sino-Japanese readings of Chinese characters, while others apply primarily to native Japanese words, and still others apply equally to both groups of words.

Broadly speaking, the differences are:

Template:Nihongo ruleEdit

  • Some morpheme-medial sounds currently written as Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2 (wa, i, u, e, and o) were written as Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2 (ha, hi, fu, he, and ho), respectively. This is because these sounds (as well as all sounds still written with Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2) originally had initial consonant {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Old Japanese, which then changed to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in Early Middle Japanese, and then, in Late Middle Japanese, split into one of five different phonemes depending on whether it occurred morpheme-initially or morpheme-medially, and then further depending on the following vowel. Morpheme-initially and before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it became {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it became {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; and before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it became {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; these three sounds are still written with Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2. Morpheme-medially and before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it became {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, it lost its consonant. Finally, later on in the same period of the language the initial {{#invoke:IPA|main}} was lost in all instances before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (note that {{#invoke:IPA|main}} never existed), leaving the current morpheme-medial pronunciations of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, but the spellings of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (which, in this context, are probably better thought of as {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; or {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). This rule primarily applies to native Japanese morphemes, although it is crucial to the mechanics of the long vowel rule that applies primarily to Sino-Japanese words, which is elaborated upon below. The modern usage of Template:Nihongo2 (ha) and Template:Nihongo2 (he) to represent grammatical particles pronounced as if written Template:Nihongo2 (wa) and Template:Nihongo2 (e), respectively, is a holdover from this rule.

Some examples follow (old spellings are on the left, new spellings on the right; kana in parentheses represent the pronunciation of the preceding character):<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear

There are some exceptions to this sound change, although they are rare. They include Template:Nihongo2 (haha "mother", expected form Template:Nihongo2 hawa), Template:Nihongo2 (hoho "cheek", expected form Template:Nihongo2 hō), Template:Nihongo2 (ahiru "domestic duck", expected form Template:Nihongo2 airu), and Template:Nihongo2 (afure-ru "overflow", expected form Template:Nihongo2 aore-ru or Template:Nihongo2 ōre-ru. Sometimes, as in the case of the first two exceptions, the sound change form exists, usually with a slightly different meaning (Template:Nihongo2 hawa is a hyper-formal and very respectful term for mother) or is used in different contexts (Template:Nihongo2 hō is generally used in isolation, while Template:Nihongo2 hoho is generally used in compounds). In other cases, as is true of the second two exceptions, the unchanged form is the only one that exists. In addition to these exceptions, some dialects may preserve these sounds as they were at any stage of the language.

Template:Nihongo ruleEdit

This section uses Nihon-shiki romanization for Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2.
  • The obsolete characters Template:Nihongo2 (wi) and Template:Nihongo2 (we) are used, and the character Template:Nihongo2 (wo) is used in other words besides as the accusative or oblique case marker. This relates to the above rule, in that it reflects a pronunciation with initial {{#invoke:IPA|main}} before {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} that is no longer present in the modern language. This rule applies equally to native and Sino-Japanese words. The use of Template:Nihongo2 (wo) to write the aforementioned grammatical particle, which is pronounced Template:Nihongo2 (o) in modern Japanese (unless preceded by Template:Nihongo2 n or sometimes in song, although all morpheme-medial instances of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, whether originally Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, or Template:Nihongo2, tend to become {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in song), is a holdover from this rule.

Some examples:

Native Japanese words

Sino-Japanese words

There are no known exceptions (besides the aforementioned ones regarding Template:Nihongo2 wo) in standard Japanese, and no dialects preserve the distinction between {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and/or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, but some of the Ryukyuan languages (which are also descended from Proto-Japonic) do.

Template:Nihongo ruleEdit

This section uses Nihon-shiki romanization for Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2.

Some examples:

Native words

Sino-Japanese words

  • Template:Nihongo2 (kaidiyo → kaizyo "release") (notice the use of Y-row rule, explained below)
  • Template:Nihongo2 (chidu → chizu "map") (notice again that an old character form is involved)

Loanwords

  • Template:Nihongo2 (radio → razio "radio") (this one is especially notable because it is an exceedingly rare example of a sound change that occurs in a loanword from English)

There are no known exceptions in standard Japanese pronunciation, although there are many dialects (such as the Tosa dialect) that preserve the distinction between historical {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in speech, usually by using {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} for historical {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} for historical {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (see Yotsugana). In writing, the distinction is preserved in single morphemes in cases where a sequence Template:Nihongo2 (chidi) or Template:Nihongo2 (tsudu) was historically produced by rendaku (such as in Template:Nihongo2 chidim-u, "shorten", and Template:Nihongo2 tsuduk-u, "continue", pronounced as if Template:Nihongo2 chizim-u and Template:Nihongo2 tsuzuk-u, respectively), or in compounds where a phonemic {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has been voiced to {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (such as in Template:Nihongo2 mi-dika "one's surroundings" and Template:Nihongo2 kana-dukai "kana usage", pronounced as if Template:Nihongo2 mi-zika and Template:Nihongo2 kana-zukai, respectively). This usage is a holdover from this rule.

Template:Nihongo ruleEdit

In modern Japanese, the small kana Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2 (ya, yu, and yo) are used to indicate palatalized consonants (Template:Nihongo2 Yōon) when following an I-column (Template:Nihongo2 I-dan) kana of the K-, G-, N-, B-, P-, M-, or R-rows (Template:Nihongo2; Ka-, Ga-, Na-, Ba-, Pa-, Ma-, Ra-gyō). For example:

When a small Y-row (Template:Nihongo2 Ya-gyō) kana follows an I-column kana of the S-, Z-, T-, D-, or H-rows (Template:Nihongo2; Sa-, Za-, Ta-, Da-, Ha-gyō), the preceding consonant is changed:

These three kana cannot follow A-row (Template:Nihongo2 A-gyō) or W-row (Template:Nihongo2 Wa-gyō) kana in this way.

In historical kana, all of these examples are written with large kana Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2 (ya, yu, and yo). So the previous examples would be written:

This is the only historical kana rule that does not reflect a historical pronunciation. It is also one of only two rules (along with the geminate rule) that create ambiguity for the reader (excluding the exceptions listed above for the H-row rule). For instance, the aforementioned word Template:Nihongo2 (kyaku) is not differentiated in historical kana from the word Template:Nihongo2 (kiyaku "agreement") when written in historical kana: both are written Template:Nihongo2 (kiyaku).

Geminate (Template:Nihongo2, sokuon) ruleEdit

The other use of small kana in modern Japanese is in the geminate consonant mark (Template:Nihongo2 Sokuon), Template:Nihongo2, which is a small version of Template:Nihongo2 (tsu). In native Japanese words, this symbol can be used before kana of the K-, S-, T-, and P-rows. For example,

Voiced geminates are generally prohibited by Japanese phonological rules, but they occur in a few loanwords (although they are sometimes pronounced by native speakers as if they were their voiceless counterparts). For example:

Kana of the N- and M-rows can also be geminate, but they are preceded by Template:Nihongo2 (n) to indicate gemination instead.

Gemination can occur in Japanese for a variety of reasons. In native words, it occurs either when a historical long vowel elides, as in the aforementioned Template:Nihongo2 (massugu, originally Template:Nihongo2 maasugu), or randomly, as in the aforementioned Template:Nihongo2 (kitto, originally Template:Nihongo2 kito). These examples of the geminate consonant marker, along with those found in loanwords, are written with large Template:Nihongo2 (tsu) in historical kana. Therefore,

In these cases, the historical usage is not reflecting any historical pronunciation. However, in Sino-Japanese words, geminate consonants are produced by different, more regular processes, and the historical usage for these words reflects historical pronunciations.

The most common way for geminates to be produced in Sino-Japanese words is by the elision of a vowel from the kana Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, or Template:Nihongo2 (ki, ku, chi, or tsu). For example:

In historical kana, where the geminate mark is used in the first, second, and fourth examples, a full-sized version of the original kana is used. However, in the third example, Template:Nihongo2 (tsu) is used, even though an {{#invoke:IPA|main}} has been elided. The reason for this is that in Early Middle Japanese, when these sounds were borrowed from Middle Chinese, the Japanese language acquired a final {{#invoke:IPA|main}} in the Sino-Japanese morphemes that currently end in Template:Nihongo2 (chi, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}) or Template:Nihongo2 (tsu, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). Later on, these acquired two forms, one with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and one with {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (although in syllables beginning with {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, one form usually begins with {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, as is the case with Template:Nihongo2). So the semantic difference between Sino-Japanese syllables ending in {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or {{#invoke:IPA|main}} is almost always trivial, and the historical pronunciation was identical, so they were not distinguished in writing. Therefore, the previous examples would be written:

Occasionally, gemination may also result from a loss of a vowel after Template:Nihongo2 (fu, originally {{#invoke:IPA|main}}). These cases are complicated by the H-row rule, and perhaps because of that, are also written with Template:Nihongo2 in historical kana. For example,

is written

in historical kana.

While this usage does reflect a historical pronunciation, it, like the Y-row rule, produces ambiguity. Furthermore, since these vowels are elided in some compounds but not others, this usage obscures the difference in a way that is essentially impossible to predict.

While there are a few other processes that can cause geminates in Sino-Japanese words, they all apply to N- and M-row kana, and are not written differently in historical and modern kana.

Labialized consonant (Template:Nihongo2, gōyōon) ruleEdit

Starting in Early Middle Japanese, as more and more Chinese characters were borrowed into Japanese, the language acquired consonants fronted with glides. Those fronted with the palatal glide are described in the Y-row rule, but Early Middle Japanese also introduced consonants fronted with labial glides (i.e., CwV). These were far more limited in range than their palatal counterparts, however, affecting only the K- and G- rows. instead of {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} for the vowels of onset, like the palatal glides, the vowels of onset for the labial glides were {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, and used the kana Template:Nihongo2, Template:Nihongo2, and Template:Nihongo2 (wa, wi, and we). Finally, while the palatal glides are written with an I-column kana, the labial glides are written with a U-column (Template:Nihongo2 U-dan) kana. However, when historical kana was standardized in the Meiji Period, only the syllables with historical {{#invoke:IPA|main}} were indicated. Nevertheless, some classical texts may indicate the other differences, and some resources will refer to them, so it is useful to be familiar with them. This rule applies exclusively to Sino-Japanese words. Some examples:

Template:Nihongo2 (written kuwa, but pronounced kwa) and Template:Nihongo2 (written guwa, but pronounced gwa) (indicated in standard historical kana)

Template:Nihongo2 (written kuwi, but pronounced kwi), Template:Nihongo2 (written guwi, but pronounced gwi), Template:Nihongo2 (written kuwe, but pronounced kwe), and Template:Nihongo2 (written guwe but pronounced gwe) (not indicated in standard historical kana)

Labialized consonants sometimes occur in modern loanwords, and they are generally dealt with in one of two ways. Firstly, the labialized consonant may be changed from a sequence {{#invoke:IPA|main}} to a sequence {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, both in writing and in speech. For example,

  • Template:Nihongo2 (kuikku "quick", from English "quick" with original {{#invoke:IPA|main}})

In other cases, they may be indicated with a U-column kana followed by a small A-row kana, indicating a labialized consonant. For example,

  • Template:Nihongo2 (kwīn "queen", from English "queen" with original {{#invoke:IPA|main}})

However, in these cases, an alternative version with large A-row kana generally exists (as it does in this case), indicating a monophthong pronunciation, and many speakers use the monophthong pronunciation regardless of how it is written.

There are no known exceptions to this rule, but some dialects (such as the Kagoshima dialect) preserve the distinction.

Long vowel (Template:Nihongo2, chōon) ruleEdit

Template:Empty section

Palatalized long vowel (Template:Nihongo2, kaiyōchōon) ruleEdit

Template:Empty section

Classical auxiliary verb Template:Nihongo2 (mu) ruleEdit

Modern Japanese has the moraic nasal Template:Nihongo2 (n), which can represent a variety of sounds depending on what sounds come before and after it. Syllable final nasals are believed by many scholars to have existed in Proto-Japonic, but all agree that they were lost by the time of Old Japanese. They first re-appeared in Early Middle Japanese, with the introduction of Middle Chinese loanwords ending in -n and -m. Therefore, the majority of occurrences of Template:Nihongo2 (n) in modern Japanese occur in Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Originally, syllabic n and m were phonemically and phonologically distinct, although the distinction was never written down, and was lost by Early Modern Japanese. For example,

  • Template:Nihongo2 (kanzi, from Middle Chinese {{#invoke:IPA|main}})
  • Template:Nihongo2 (ongaku, from Middle Chinese {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; originally pronounced omgaku) (note the old character form)

However, some native Japanese words also have Template:Nihongo2 (n). This happens exceedingly rarely, and usually results from sound elision. An exhaustive list of every example out of all regular-use characters with the syllabic nasal in their native Japanese readings numbers only 13 characters (0.61% of the regular-use set) giving rise to 14 readings. They are

From the elision of a vowel following /m/ or /n/

From the elision of a full mora

From the preservation of an Old Japanese pre-nasalized consonant in a modern Japanese word

From abbreviation of another pronunciation on this list

From multiple processes

From some semantic (rather than phonetic) process

Of course, there are also some words with this sound that either lack Chinese characters or were coined in the modern or Early Modern Japanese eras, when Template:Nihongo2 (n) had been fully incorporated into the language. For example,

Regardless of how it came to be, the Japanese orthography lacked the character Template:Nihongo2 (n) or any equivalent. Therefore, until the spelling reforms of 1900, Template:Nihongo2 (mu) was generally used to represent the syllabic nasal. Sometimes, this convention may be preserved by modern writers, but standard historical kana distinguishes Template:Nihongo2 (mu) from Template:Nihongo2 (n).

There is one exception. In classical Japanese, there is an auxiliary verb (Template:Nihongo2 jodōshi) Template:Nihongo2 (mu) which indicated the volitional. It, too, underwent vowel elision, and came to be pronounced as {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and then {{#invoke:IPA|main}}. However, the conventions of standard historical kana call for this auxiliary verb (and any word derived from it) to be written with Template:Nihongo2 (mu) even though they are pronounced as Template:Nihongo2 (n).

Since the auxiliary verb Template:Nihongo2 (mu) is non-existent in modern Japanese, there are no dialects that preserve the distinction expressed in this rule. However, some may preserve the distinction between final {{#invoke:IPA|main}} and {{#invoke:IPA|main}}.

MiscellaneousEdit

Two other significant differences involve the way that kana are used in general, rather than which kana are used. The first is that Chinese characters in classical texts are often fully marked with ruby text (Template:Nihongo2 Furigana), especially in old laws and other very important documents. Ruby text is still widely used in modern Japanese, but only for characters with non-standard or ambiguous pronunciations, or sometimes in materials designed for children or foreigners. The second difference is that, especially in legal documents, Katakana were often used in the way that Hiragana are used in modern Japanese, to write out adjective and verb inflections, suffixes, and particles (Template:Nihongo2 Okurigana), and for the aforementioned ruby text.

Finally, kana iteration marks were far more common in classical Japanese, and sometimes used in ways that are considered completely obsolete in modern Japanese.

For an example of a major document written in the classical style, see as an example the original text of the 1890 Meiji Constitution, which is written in classical Japanese using historical kana, old character forms, kana iteration marks, and Katakana in place of Hiragana (although it lacks universal ruby text).

GrammarEdit

Template:NihongoEdit

Conjugation tableEdit

Classical Japanese has the following verb classes and stem forms:

Inflectional form = (Template:Ifsubst style="color:red">stem) + Template:Ifsubst style="color:blue">Inflectional suffix

Inflectional Class

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

Inflectional form

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

Translation
stem
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Irrealis
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Infinitive
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Conclusive
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Attributive
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Realis
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Imperative
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}
Quadrigrade
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} (-i) lang}} (-a) lang}} (-i) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-u) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-e) 'hear'
Upper Monograde
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		– {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-i) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (m-iru) lang}} (-ire) lang}} (-i[yo]) 'see'
lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-wi) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-wiru) lang}} (-wire) lang}} (-wiyo) 'use'
Lower Monograde
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		– {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-e) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-eru) lang}} (-ere) lang}} (-e[yo]) 'kick'
Upper Bigrade
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-i) lang}} (-u) lang}} (-uru) lang}} (-ure) lang}} (-iyo) 'pass'
Lower Bigrade
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-e) lang}} (-u) lang}} (-uru) lang}} (-ure) lang}} (-e[yo]) 'receive'
K-irregular
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		– lang}} (-o) lang}} (-i) lang}} (-u) lang}} (-uru) lang}} (-ure) lang}} (-o) 'come'
S-irregular
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		– lang}} (-e) lang}} (-i) lang}} (-u) lang}} (-uru) lang}} (-ure) lang}} (-e[yo]) 'do'
lang}} lang}} (-se) lang}} (-si) lang}} (-su) lang}} (-suru) lang}} (-sure) lang}} (-seyo) 'set the date'
N-irregular
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} lang}} (-a) lang}} (-i) lang}} (-u) lang}} (-uru) lang}} (-ure) lang}} (-e) 'die'
R-irregular
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} lang}} (-a) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-i) lang}} (-u) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} (-e) 'be, exist'

Note that most S-irregular is the combination of a noun and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}; for example, {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} is a combination of the noun {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} ('date') and {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}.

The Template:Nihongo2 (yo) at the end of the imperative forms is optional in classical Japanese, although exceedingly common.

Verb class distributionEdit

While the many conjugation classes may seem overwhelming, most of them contain few verbs. The quadrigrade and lower bigrade classes are the primary, containing about 75% and 20% of the verbs in the language, respectively. The upper bigrade class is small (about 56 non-compound verbs), but sizable enough to make an exhaustive list difficult. The other 6 classes all together contain between 22 and 28 verbs, depending on whether basic compound verbs are included or not. An exhaustive list of these follows, with verbs in the conclusive form, as is the most common standard. Chinese character pronunciations are indicated by hiragana in parentheses following the given character. The first spelling listed for a given verb is the most common, and those that follow are alternative spellings. Some of these spellings are generally used for slightly different connotations of the same verb, while others are simple alternatives. In later reference, only the first spelling (in pre-World War II orthography) will be used, and the transcription will be based on the historical spelling. A blank cell in one (or both) of the "modern" columns indicates that the modern spelling and/or transcription is the same as the pre-World War II version.

Japanese (Pre-World War II orthography) Japanese (Modern orthography) Romanization (Pre-World War II orthography) Romanization (Modern orthography) Translation
Template:Nihongo2 (Kami ichidan katsuyō dōshi "Upper monograde conjugation class verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 Ki-ru To wear
Template:Nihongo2 Ni-ru To resemble
Template:Nihongo2 Ni-ru To boil
Template:Nihongo2 Hi-ru To sneeze
Template:Nihongo2 Hi-ru To dry
Template:Nihongo2 Hi-ru To winnow
Template:Nihongo2 Mi-ru To go around
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Mi-ru To see
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Kagami-ru To learn from
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Kaherimi-ru Kaerimi-ru To reflect upon
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Kokoromi-ru To try
Template:Nihongo2 I-ru To shoot (an arrow)
Template:Nihongo2 I-ru To douse (with water)
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 I-ru To cast (metal)
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Wi-ru I-ru To sit
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Wi-ru I-ru To carry (constantly)
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Hikiwi-ru Hikii-ru To lead (an army)
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Mochiwi-ru Mochii-ru To use
Template:Nihongo2 (Shimo ichidan katsuyō dōshi "Lower monograde conjugation class verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 Ke-ru To kick
Template:Nihongo2 (Ka-gyō henkaku dōshi "K-irregular verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 K-u To come
Template:Nihongo2 (Sa-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "S-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 S-u To do
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Ohas-u Owas-u To be/go/come (honorific form)
Template:Nihongo2 (Na-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "N-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 In-u To go away
Template:Nihongo2 Shin-u To die
Template:Nihongo2 (Ra-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "R-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Nihongo2 Ar-i To exist
Template:Nihongo2 Imasukar-i To exist (honorific form)
Template:Nihongo2 Haber-i To serve (humble form)
Template:Nihongo2 Template:Nihongo2 Wor-i Or-i To be
Table notesEdit

Note that these translations are glosses, and may not reflect certain nuances or rare alternative meanings.

In addition, the translations are for the classical meaning of the verb, which may differ from the modern meaning of the verb if it has survived into modern Japanese either slightly (e.g., Template:Nihongo2 ki-ru, which meant "to wear [in general]" in classical Japanese, but means "to wear [from the waist up]" in modern Japanese), or significantly (e.g., Template:Nihongo2 wi-ru, which meant "to sit" in classical Japanese, but primarily means "to be" (for animate objects) in modern Japanese). Some may have the same meaning, but a different pronunciation (e.g., Template:Nihongo2 kagami-ru "to learn from", which is generally pronounced and written Template:Nihongo2 kangami-ru in modern Japanese). Also, even for those verbs which have survived with the same meaning and form, many are archaic and rarely used in modern Japanese (e.g., Template:Nihongo2 hi-ru "to sneeze", with the same modern meaning and form, but almost never used). On the other hand, some have kept the same meaning, form, and prominence into the modern language (e.g., Template:Nihongo2 mi-ru "to see", one of the oldest surviving verbs in the language and also one of the most common, both in classical and modern texts).

Template:Nihongo2 (imasukar-i "to exist", honorific form) has three pronunciation variants, each of which can use either Chinese character: Template:Nihongo2 (imasugar-i), Template:Nihongo2 (imasokar-i), and Template:Nihongo2 (imasogar-i).

Finally, the "modern" transcriptions are purely orthographic. For example, the modern version conclusive form of the classical verb Template:Nihongo2 (k-u "to come") is Template:Nihongo2 (k-uru), but the modern form is given in the table as Template:Nihongo2 (k-u), which is the way that a modern Japanese writer would write the classical Japanese word, rather than the way they would write the modern Japanese word.

Template:NihongoEdit

Classical Japanese has the following classes of adjectives and stem forms:

Class of

Inflection

subclass stem
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Irrealis
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Adverbial
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Conclusive
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Attributive
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Realis
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Imperative
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		Translation
-ku
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) lang}} (-ku) lang}} (-si) lang}} (-ki) lang}} (-kere)   'be high'
lang}} lang}} (-kara) lang}} (-kari) lang}} (-karu)   lang}} (-kare)
-siku
{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} 		lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} lang}} / {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}) lang}} (-siku) lang}} (-si) lang}} (-siki) lang}} (-sikere)   'be beautiful'
lang}} lang}} (-sikara) lang}} (-sikari) lang}} (-sikaru)   lang}} (-sikare)
Table notesEdit

The existence of irrealis form is still a controversy. Some scholars assume that the ancient construction called Template:Nihongo2 (Ku-gohō "Ku-grammar") uses the irrealis form to form nouns from verbs and adjectives; e.g., Template:Nihongo2 (yasu-shi "peaceful") → Template:Nihongo2 (yasu-ke) + Template:Nihongo2 (-ku) → Template:Nihongo2 (yasukeku "peace of mind"). Meanwhile, others assumed the construction Template:Nihongo2 (-kuba) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shikuba) appears to be an irrealis form Template:Nihongo2 (-ku) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shiku) + particle Template:Nihongo2 (-ba) (since that particle usually attaches to the irrealis form). However, the scholars agreeing with "Ku-grammar theory" argue that it's actually Template:Nihongo2 (-ku) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shiku) + particle Template:Nihongo2 (ha; modern pronunciation wa) with a sequential voicing sound change from Template:Nihongo2 (ha) to Template:Nihongo2 (ba).

The compound forms are derived from continuitive form Template:Nihongo2 (-ku) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shiku) + Template:Nihongo2 (ar-i) → Template:Nihongo2 (-kuar-i) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shikuar-i), which then became Template:Nihongo2 (-kar-i) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shikar-i) by regular sound change rules from Old Japanese. The forms then follow the R-irregular conjugation type like Template:Nihongo2 (ar-i), but lack the conclusive form.

Similarly, the basic conjugations have no imperative form. When it is used, therefore, the Template:Nihongo2 (-kar-e) / Template:Nihongo2 (-shikar-e) forms are used. It is however, relatively rare, even in classical Japanese.

Template:NihongoEdit

There are the following classes for adjectival verbs:

Class of

inflection

stem{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Irrealis{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Adverbial{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Conclusive{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Attributive{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Realis{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Imperative{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} Translation
Nari

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-nara) lang}}(-nari) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-nari) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-naru) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-nare) 'be static'
lang}}(-ni)
Tari

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}

{{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-tara) lang}}(-tari) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-tari) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-taru) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}}(-tare) ''be quiet, soft"
lang}}(-to)
Table notesEdit

Adjectival verbs are essentially nouns(or stems of the adjectives) combined with an auxiliary verb, either Template:Nihongo2 (-nar-i) or Template:Nihongo2 (-tar-i).

Most tari-adjectival nouns are derived from Sino-Japanese vocabulary. For example,「{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}」 is derived from 「{{#invoke:Lang|lang}}」, a Chinese word meaning “quietly, softly”.

The auxiliary verbs are derived from directional particles Template:Nihongo2 (ni) + Template:Nihongo2 (-ar-i) and Template:Nihongo2 (to) + Template:Nihongo2 (-ar-i), respectively, yielding Template:Nihongo2 (niar-i) and Template:Nihongo2 (toar-i), respectively, which then lead to Template:Nihongo2 (nar-i) and Template:Nihongo2 (tar-i), respectively, by regular sound change rules. They therefore follow the R-irregular conjugation like Template:Nihongo2 (ar-i).

As with adjectives, the imperative form is rare, but is used.

MiscellaneousEdit

Template:Fs interlinear

The particle Template:Nihongo2 is omitted more often than in the spoken style.

Template:Fs interlinear

See alsoEdit

NotesEdit

Template:Notefoot

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

Template:Japanese language Template:Authority control

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