Okurigana

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Okurigana (送り仮名, literally "accompanying letters") are kana suffixes following kanji stems in Japanese written words. Generally used to inflect an adjective or verb, okurigana can indicate aspect (perfective/imperfective), affirmative/negative meaning, or grammatical politeness, among many other functions. In modern usage, okurigana are almost invariably written with hiragana; katakana were also commonly used in the past.

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[edit] Inflection examples

Adjectives in Japanese use okurigana to indicate aspect and affirmation/negation, with all adjectives using the same pattern of suffixes for each case. A simple example uses the character "高" (high) to express the four basic cases of a Japanese adjective. The root meaning of the word is expressed via the kanji ("高", read taka and meaning "high" in each of these cases), but crucial information (negation and aspect) can only be understood by reading the okurigana following the kanji stem.

高い (takai) 
High (positive, imperfective), meaning "[It is] expensive" or "[It is] high"
高かった (takakatta) 
High (positive, perfective), meaning "[It was] expensive/high"
高くない (takakunai) 
High (negative, imperfective), meaning "[It is not] expensive/high"
高くなかった (takakunakatta) 
High (negative, perfective), meaning "[It was not] expensive/high"

Japanese verbs follow a similar pattern; the root meaning is generally expressed by using one or more kanji at the start of the word, and then aspect, negation, grammatical politeness, and other language features are expressed by following okurigana.

食べる (taberu) 
To eat (positive, imperfective, direct politeness), meaning "[I/you/etc.] eat"
食べない (tabenai) 
To eat (negative, imperfective, direct), meaning "[I/you/etc.] do not eat"
食べた (tabeta) 
To eat (positive, perfective, direct), meaning "[I/you/etc.] ate/have eaten"
食べなかった (tabenakatta) 
To eat (negative, perfective, direct), meaning "[I/you/etc.] did not eat/have not eaten"

Compare the direct polite verb forms to their distant forms, which follow a similar pattern, but whose meaning indicates more distance between the speaker and the listener:

食べます (tabemasu) 
To eat (positive, imperfective, distant politeness), meaning "[My group/your group] eats"
食べません (tabemasen) 
To eat (negative, imperfective, distant), meaning "[My group/your group] does not eat"
食べました (tabemashita) 
To eat (positive, perfective, distant), meaning "[My group/your group] ate/has eaten"
食べませんでした (tabemasen deshita) 
To eat (negative, perfective, distant), meaning "[My group/your group] did not eat/has not eaten"

[edit] Okurigana rules

[edit] Verbs

The okurigana for group I verbs (五段動詞) usually begins with the final syllable of the dictionary form of the verb. 飲む no-mu to drink, 頂く itada-ku to receive, 養う yashina-u to cultivate, 練る ne-ru to twist.

For group II verbs (一段動詞) the okurigana begins at the syllable preceding the last, unless the word is only two syllables long. 妨げる samata-geru to prevent, 食べる ta-beru to eat, 占める shi-meru to comprise, 寝る ne-ru to sleep, 着る ki-ru to wear.

If the verb has different variations, such as transitive and intransitive forms, then the shortest reading of the kanji is used for all related words. 閉める shi-meru to close (transitive), 閉まる shi-maru to close (intransitive), 落ちる o-chiru to fall, 落とす o-tosu to drop. Distinctions are also made to differentiate between readings 脅かす obiya-kasu to threaten (mentally), 脅す odosu to threaten (physically).

[edit] Adjectives

Most adjectives ending in -i (true adjectives) have okurigana starting from the -i. 安い yasu-i, 高い　taka-i, 赤い akai-i. Okurigana starts from shi for adjectives ending in -shii. 楽しい tano-shii, 著しい ichijiru-shii, 貧しい mazu-shii.

Exceptions occur when the adjective also has a verbal form. In this case, as above, the reading of the character is kept constant. 暖める atata-meru (verb), 暖かい atata-kai (adjective), 頼む tano-mu, 頼もしい tano-moshii. As with verbs, okurigana is used to distinguish between readings. 細い hoso-i, 細かい koma-kai, 大いに　oo-ini, 大きい oo-kii.

Na-adjectives (adjectival verbs) that end in -ka have okurigana from the ka. 静か shizu-ka, 豊か yuta-ka, 愚か oro-ka

[edit] Adverbs

The last syllable of an adverb is usually written as okurigana. 既に sude-ni, 必ず kanara-zu, 少し suko-shi.

[edit] Nouns

Nouns do not normally have okurigana. 月 tsuki, 魚 sakana, 米 kome. However, if the noun is derived from a verb or adjective, it may take the same okurigana, although may also be omitted in some cases. 当たり a-tari, 怒り ika-ri, 釣り tsu-ri. For some nouns is it obligatory to omit the okurigana, despite having a verbal origin. 話 hanashi, 氷 koori, 畳 tatami. The noun form of the corresponding verb does take okurigana.

話し hana-shi is the nominal form of the verb 話す hana-su, and not the noun 話 hanashi.

Some nouns have okurigana by convention. 兆し kiza-shi, 幸い saiwa-i, 勢い ikio-i

[edit] Compounds

Okurigana may be omitted if there is no ambiguity in meaning or reading. 受け付け u-ke tsu-ke, 受付 uke tsuke, 行き先 i-ki saki, 行先 iki saki.

[edit] Exceptions

There are however exceptions to these rules that must be learnt: okurigana that has become standard by convention rather than logic. 明るい aka-rui, 恥ずかしい ha-zukashii

[edit] Disambiguation of kanji

Okurigana are also used to disambiguate kanji that have multiple readings. Since kanji, especially the most common ones, can be used for words with many (usually similar) meanings—but different pronunciations—key okurigana placed after the kanji help the reader to know which meaning and reading were intended.

Disambiguation examples include common verbs which use the characters "上" (up) and "下" (down):

上がる (agaru) 
"to ascend/to make ready/to complete", in which 上 is read "a"
上る (noboru) 
"to go up/to climb (a set of stairs)", in which 上 is read "nobo" [1]
下さる (kudasaru) 
"to give [to the speaker as an inferior]", in which 下 is read "kuda"
下りる (oriru) 
"to get off/to descend", in which 下 is read "o"
下がる (sagaru) 
"to dangle", in which 下 is read "sa"

Another example includes a common verb with different meanings based on the okurigana:

話す (hanasu) 
"to speak/to talk". Example: ちゃんと話す方がいい。(chanto hanasu hou ga ii), meaning "It's better if you speak correctly."
話し (hanashi) 
noun form of the verb hanasu, "to speak". Example: 話し言葉と書き言葉 (hanashi kotoba to kaki kotoba), meaning "spoken words and written words".
話 (hanashi) 
noun, meaning "a story" or "a talk". Example: 話はいかが？ (hanashi wa ikaga?), meaning "How about a story?"

While the Japanese Ministry of Education prescribes rules on how to use okurigana, in practice there is much variation, particularly in older texts and online. As an example, the standard spelling of the word "kuregata" is 暮れ方, but it will sometimes be seen as 暮方.

  1. ^ Do not confuse 上る with its homophone, 登る (both pronounced "noboru"). One meaning of 登る is "to climb (especially with hands and feet)".