Ateji?

Index » RtK Volume 1

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Reply #1 - 2012 March 14, 1:56 am
justin799 New member
Registered: 2011-06-19 Posts: 2

I just found out about ateji, so i looked on wikipedia but they didn't explain it good enough so that i can understand. and i read other articles but they basially just copied it off wikipedia. So can someone explain it to me?

To me, i think it's "special readings" but at the same time i don't think it means "special readings" like 寿司、煙草. (sushi, tabako)

If it does mean special readings, can someone give me some examples of it? Sorry im asking for a lot haha

Reply #2 - 2012 March 14, 2:18 am
turvy Banned
From: Japan Registered: 2012-01-27 Posts: 430

I found this part clear enough after a quick glance.

Wikipedia wrote:

For example, sushi is often written with the ateji 寿司. Though the two characters are respectively read as su and shi, the character 寿 means "one's natural life span" and 司 means "to administer", neither of which has anything to do with the food. Ateji as a means of representing loanwords have been largely superseded in modern Japanese by the use of katakana, although many ateji coined in earlier eras still linger on.

Check the [Talk] page on Wikipedia if you still need more…

Reply #3 - 2012 March 14, 2:26 am
kusterdu Member
From: USA Registered: 2007-11-12 Posts: 88

当て字 has a pretty broad meaning; it doesn't just mean "special readings" as sometimes the kanji are read with their normal readings.  Basically when kanji are selected and used for a particular word they do not normally represent, that's an 当て字.  Sometimes the kanji are selected for their sound and the meaning is ignored as in 亜米利加 (アメリカ).  Sometimes they are used for their meaning and their sound is ignored (煙草, which you cited, is such an example.  So is the very common 今日).

I hope that answers your question.

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Reply #4 - 2012 March 14, 2:56 am
justin799 New member
Registered: 2011-06-19 Posts: 2

kusterdu wrote:

当て字 has a pretty broad meaning; it doesn't just mean "special readings" as sometimes the kanji are read with their normal readings.  Basically when kanji are selected and used for a particular word they do not normally represent, that's an 当て字.  Sometimes the kanji are selected for their sound and the meaning is ignored as in 亜米利加 (アメリカ).  Sometimes they are used for their meaning and their sound is ignored (煙草, which you cited, is such an example.  So is the very common 今日).

I hope that answers your question.

Thanks!

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