可愛い
Japanese
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
可 | 愛 |
か Grade: 5 (ateji) | あい > わい Grade: 4 (ateji) |
on’yomi | jukujikun |
/kawajui/ → /kawaiː/
Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below.[1]
The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当て字) and jukujikun (熟字訓), and uses an irregular reading of 愛. The phonological resemblance to Chinese 可愛 (“lovable”, Mandarin kě'ài, Min Nan khó-ài) is coincidental. Note that the medial -w- here is not an excrescence added between ka (可) and ai (愛), since the word is not formed from these morphemes.
Already realized phonetically as /kawaiː/ by the early 1600s, and possibly found alongside older form kawayui, as seen in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.[2]
Alternative forms
- (informal, cutesy) かあいい (kāii), きゃわいい (kyawaii)
- (slang) カワユス (kawayusu), かわE (kawaii)
Pronunciation
- (Irregular reading)
- (Tokyo) かわいい [kàwáíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])[3][4]
- IPA(key): [ka̠ɰᵝa̠ii]
Audio (file)
- Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "可愛い"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary | |||
Stem forms | |||
---|---|---|---|
Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわいく かわいく | [kàwáꜜìkù] [kàwáíꜜkù] |
Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわいい | [kàwáíꜜì] |
Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわいい | [kàwáíꜜì] |
Key constructions | |||
Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわいくない かわいくない | [kàwáꜜìkùnàì] [kàwáíꜜkùnàì] |
Informal past | 可愛かった | かわいかった かわいかった | [kàwáꜜìkàttà] [kàwáíꜜkàttà] |
Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわいくなかった かわいくなかった | [kàwáꜜìkùnàkàttà] [kàwáíꜜkùnàkàttà] |
Formal | 可愛いです | かわいいです | [kàwáíꜜìdèsù] |
Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわいくて かわいくて | [kàwáꜜìkùtè] [kàwáíꜜkùtè] |
Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわいければ かわいければ | [kàwáꜜìkèrèbà] [kàwáíꜜkèrèbà] |
Adjective
可愛い • (kawaii) ←かはいい (kafaī)? -i (adverbial 可愛く (kawaiku))
- lovable, beloved
- 可愛い子には旅をさせよ
- kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
- spare the rod and spoil the child
- (literally, “send your beloved child on a journey”)
- 可愛い子には旅をさせよ
- cute, adorable
- かわいい子と付き合う
- kawaii ko to tsukiau
- to go out with (date) a cute girl
- 食べちゃいたいくらい可愛い
- tabechaitai kurai kawaii
- so cute I could just eat you up
- 2003 September 22, Uraku, Akinobu, “第63話 幼い記憶 [Chapter 63: Childish Memories]”, in 東京アンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 11 (fiction), Square Enix, →ISBN, page 99:
- 暴れなきゃ可愛い顔なんだよな
- Abarenakya kawaii kao na n da yo na
- Her face when she’s not mad is actually pretty cute.
- 暴れなきゃ可愛い顔なんだよな
- 2018, Akasaka, Aka, “第92話 かぐや様を照れさせたい [Chapter 92: He Wants to Make Kaguya-sama Feel Embarrassed]”, in かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜 [Kaguya-sama Wants to Make Him Confess: The Intellectual Battle of Love Between Geniuses], volume 10 (fiction), Shueisha:
- 私なんかより藤原さんの方が可愛いですよ
- Watashi nanka yori Fujiwara-san no hō ga kawaii desu yo
- Fujiwara's more cute than I am.
- Kawaisa to kireisa wa betsumono daro
- Cuteness and beauty aren't the same now, are they?
- 私なんかより藤原さんの方が可愛いですよ
- かわいい子と付き合う
Usage notes
Often spelled in hiragana.
Inflection
Stem forms | |||
---|---|---|---|
Imperfective (未然形) | 可愛かろ | かわいかろ | kawaikaro |
Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわいく | kawaiku |
Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわいい | kawaii |
Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわいい | kawaii |
Hypothetical (仮定形) | 可愛けれ | かわいけれ | kawaikere |
Imperative (命令形) | 可愛かれ | かわいかれ | kawaikare |
Key constructions | |||
Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわいくない | kawaiku nai |
Informal past | 可愛かった | かわいかった | kawaikatta |
Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわいくなかった | kawaiku nakatta |
Formal | 可愛いです | かわいいです | kawaii desu |
Formal negative | 可愛くないです | かわいくないです | kawaiku nai desu |
Formal past | 可愛かったです | かわいかったです | kawaikatta desu |
Formal negative past | 可愛くなかったです | かわいくなかったです | kawaiku nakatta desu |
Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわいくて | kawaikute |
Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわいければ | kawaikereba |
Provisional | 可愛かったら | かわいかったら | kawaikattara |
Volitional | 可愛かろう | かわいかろう | kawaikarō |
Adverbial | 可愛く | かわいく | kawaiku |
Degree | 可愛さ | かわいさ | kawaisa |
Derived terms
- 可愛そう, 可哀相, 可哀想 (kawaisō): pitiful, pitiable, poor, sad
- 可愛がる (kawaigaru): to think that someone or something is cute, to be sweet on someone or something
- 可愛い気 (kawaige): cuteness, lovableness
- 可愛らしい (kawairashii): cute-like, cute-looking
- 可愛くない (kawaikunai)
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term | |
---|---|
可 | 愛 |
かわゆ | |
Grade: 5 | Grade: 4 |
jukujikun |
From classical Japanese /kawo hajuɕi/ → /kawajui/.
A contraction of classical 顔映し (kawahayushi, “embarrassing, shameful”). The meaning evolved from shameful to evoking pity, to evoking compassion, and then to lovable.[1] The kanji spelling appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓), from the above reading. Compare Korean 예쁘다 (yeppeu-da), which originally meant poor (as in "poor, poor kid") but now means pretty.
Pronunciation
- (Irregular reading)
- (Tokyo) かわゆい [kàwáyúꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])[3]
- IPA(key): [ka̠ɰᵝa̠jɯ̟ᵝi]
Adjective
可愛い • (kawayui) ←かはゆい (kafayui)? -i (adverbial 可愛く (kawayuku))
- embarrassed, having a guilty conscience: see 顔映し (kawahayushi).
- (obsolete) pitiable, pitiful
- 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
- Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij.
- (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.
- 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
- lovable, adorable, cute
Inflection
Stem forms | |||
---|---|---|---|
Imperfective (未然形) | 可愛かろ | かわゆかろ | kawayukaro |
Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわゆく | kawayuku |
Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわゆい | kawayui |
Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわゆい | kawayui |
Hypothetical (仮定形) | 可愛けれ | かわゆけれ | kawayukere |
Imperative (命令形) | 可愛かれ | かわゆかれ | kawayukare |
Key constructions | |||
Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわゆくない | kawayuku nai |
Informal past | 可愛かった | かわゆかった | kawayukatta |
Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわゆくなかった | kawayuku nakatta |
Formal | 可愛いです | かわゆいです | kawayui desu |
Formal negative | 可愛くないです | かわゆくないです | kawayuku nai desu |
Formal past | 可愛かったです | かわゆかったです | kawayukatta desu |
Formal negative past | 可愛くなかったです | かわゆくなかったです | kawayuku nakatta desu |
Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわゆくて | kawayukute |
Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわゆければ | kawayukereba |
Provisional | 可愛かったら | かわゆかったら | kawayukattara |
Volitional | 可愛かろう | かわゆかろう | kawayukarō |
Adverbial | 可愛く | かわゆく | kawayuku |
Degree | 可愛さ | かわゆさ | kawayusa |
See also
- 可愛岳 (Enodake)
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.
- 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