足掻き

足掻き

Japanese

Alternative forms

• 足掻 (less common)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
足	掻
あ Grade: 1	かき > がき Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

The 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 足掻く (agaku, “to paw at the ground; to struggle”), itself a compound of 足 (a, “foot”, Old Japanese form, now only found in compounds) +‎ 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”).[1] The kaki changes to gaki as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • (Tokyo) あがき​ [àgákíꜜ] (Odaka – [o])[2]
  • (Tokyo) あ​がき [áꜜgàkì] (Atamadaka – [1])[2]
  • IPA^(key): [a̠ɡa̠kʲi]

Noun

足掻き (hiragana あがき, rōmaji agaki)

1. pawing of hooves at the ground
2. struggling, flailing about

   足 (あ)掻 (が)きが空 (むな)しくて結局絶望 (けっきょくぜつぼう)に陥 (おちい)った。

   Agaki ga munashikute kekkyoku zetsubō ni ochiitta.

   His flailing about was futile, and he ultimately fell into a depression.

3. movement of one's hands and legs

Related terms

• 足 (あ)掻 (が)く (agaku): to paw at the ground; to struggle

Idioms

Idioms

• 足 (あ)掻 (が)きが取 (と)れない (agaki ga torenai): “to be unable to take any movement of one's limbs” → to be stuck, to not have options
• 足 (あ)掻 (が)きがつかない (agaki ga tsukanai): “movement does not stick / have an effect” → to be stuck, to not have options
• 足 (あ)掻 (が)きを打 (う)つ (agaki o utsu): “to hit the pawing” → 足掻く (agaku, “to paw at the ground”)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
足	掻
あし Grade: 1	かき > がき Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Compound of 足 (ashi, “foot”) +‎ 掻き (kaki, “scratching”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”)).[1] The kaki changes to gaki as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [a̠ɕiɡa̠kʲi]

Noun

足掻き (hiragana あしがき, rōmaji ashigaki)

1. pawing at the ground (less common than the agaki reading)
2. a children's game played by hopping around on one foot

Etymology 3

台湾足掻き (Taiwan ashikaki): southern cutgrass, cousin species to Leersia japonica.

Kanji in this term
足	掻
あし Grade: 1	かき Hyōgaiji
kun’yomi

Compound of 足 (ashi, “foot”) +‎ 掻き (kaki, “scratching”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of verb 掻く (kaku, “to scratch”)), possibly from the way that horses or cattle might paw at the grass when grazing. Note the lack of rendaku.

Pronunciation

• Kun’yomi
  • IPA^(key): [a̠ɕika̠kʲi]

Noun

足掻き (hiragana あしかき, katakana アシカキ, rōmaji ashikaki)

1. Leersia japonica, a kind of cutgrass native to Japan

Usage notes

As with many terms used in biology contexts, this term is often spelled in katakana.

Derived terms

• 台湾 (たいわん)足掻 (あしか)き (Taiwan ashikaki): Leersia hexandra, southern cutgrass

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.