パチンコ
Japanese
![](Images/wiktionary/Pachinko_parlour.jpg.webp)
パチンコ (pachinko): a pachinko parlor.
Etymology
Appears from the Taishō period in the early 1900s.
Compound of ぱちん (pachin, onomatopoeia for a small hard thing striking something else; compare English kaching) + 子 (-ko, suffix used to form nouns, often diminutive).
A pinball-like children's game was first called ガチャンコ (gachanko) of similar derivation, with this more gambling-oriented machine becoming popular from around 1947.[1]
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) パチンコ [pàchíńkó] (Heiban – [0])[2][3]
- IPA(key): [pa̠t͡ɕĩŋko̞]
Noun
パチンコ • (pachinko)
- a form of vertical pinball used for gambling, sometimes found in arcades
- a slingshot, stonebow
- (slang) a pistol
Usage notes
The slingshot sense may be more commonly spelled in hiragana, as ぱちんこ.
Derived terms
- パチンコ台 (pachinkodai, “pachinko machine”)
- パチンコ屋 (pachinko-ya, “pachinko parlor”)
Descendants
- → Chinese: 柏青哥 (bóqīnggē)
- → English: pachinko
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN