Editing Classical Japanese (section)

=== {{nihongo|Old character forms|旧字体|kyūjitai}} ===

Old character forms are the forms of [[Kanji|Chinese characters]] ({{nihongo2|漢字}}, ''kanji'') used in Japan before the post-World War II spelling reforms there. The modern, simplified characters are called {{nihongo|[[Shinjitai|new character forms]]|新字体|shinjitai}}.

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

*{{nihongo2|體 → 体}}
*{{nihongo2|舊 → 旧}}
*{{nihongo2|當 → 当}}
*{{nihongo2|與 → 与}}
*{{nihongo2|變 → 変}} 
*{{nihongo2|靜 → 静}}
*{{nihongo2|爲 → 為}}
*{{nihongo2|眞 → 真}}

The kana spelling of a kanji is not unique; e.g. in modern Japanese, note the difference in the reading of {{Nihongo2|体}} between {{nihongo2|体}} ({{nihongo2|からだ}}, "physical body") and {{nihongo2|政体}} ({{nihongo2|せい‐たい}}, "forms of government"). The above spelling differences are etymological. For example, {{nihongo2|からだ}} is just a native Japanese word labeled by a Chinese character with similar meaning, while {{nihongo2|政体}} is totally a new word derived from the combination of original meanings of two Chinese characters ({{Lang|zh|政}} means "politics" and {{Lang|zh|體}} 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In cases like those of the first two, the entire original character has essentially been replaced by a new one, independent of the original's etymology.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 characters|traditional Chinese counterparts]], but there are some exceptions. For the seventh example character ({{nihongo2|爲 → 為}}), the traditional and simplified Japanese versions coexisted as different forms of the same traditional character in [[Mandarin Chinese|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 ({{nihongo2|眞 → 真}}), the old character form has always been considered a rare variant in Modern Chinese. (However, {{Lang|zh|爲}} and {{Lang|zh|眞}} are actually the formal forms in [[Middle Chinese]] and [[Old Chinese]].)