酸っぱい

酸っぱい

Japanese

Kanji in this term
酸
す Grade: 5
kun’yomi

Etymology

First cited to a text from 1823.[1]

This appears to be a compound of 酸 (su-, stem of adjective 酸(す)い (sui, “sour”), in turn from 酢(す) (su, “vinegar”)) +‎ っぱい (-ppai, “-ish, having that quality”, suffix entailing negative overtones).[1]

• The suffix -ppai may be related to more neutral suffix っぽい (ppoi, “-ish”).[2][3]
• Alternatively, the suffix may represent a reanalysis of the -ppai ending in adjective 塩っぱい (shoppai, “salty”), where the ending derives from 映ゆい (hayui, “dazzling; very much that quality; too much that quality”). While there are historically attested examples of shoppai evolving from shio + hayushi (the classical form), where しほはゆし (shihohayushi) first appears in the late 1500s,[4] there are no such attestations for the more recent word suppai.[1]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) すっぱ​い [sùppáꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])[5][6][7]
• IPA^(key): [sɨ̥ᵝp̚pa̠i]

• Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "酸っぱい"

Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形)	酸っぱく	すっぱ​く	[sùppáꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形)	酸っぱい	すっぱ​い	[sùppáꜜì]
Attributive (連体形)	酸っぱい	すっぱ​い	[sùppáꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative	酸っぱくない	すっぱ​くない	[sùppáꜜkùnàì]
Informal past	酸っぱかった	すっぱ​かった	[sùppáꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past	酸っぱくなかった	すっぱ​くなかった	[sùppáꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal	酸っぱいです	すっぱ​いです	[sùppáꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive	酸っぱくて	すっぱ​くて	[sùppáꜜkùtè]
Conditional	酸っぱければ	すっぱ​ければ	[sùppáꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

酸(す)っぱい • (suppai) -i (adverbial 酸(す)っぱく (suppaku))

1. [from 1823] sour

Inflection

Inflection of 酸っぱい

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	酸っぱかろ	すっぱかろ	suppakaro
Continuative (連用形)	酸っぱく	すっぱく	suppaku
Terminal (終止形)	酸っぱい	すっぱい	suppai
Attributive (連体形)	酸っぱい	すっぱい	suppai
Hypothetical (仮定形)	酸っぱけれ	すっぱけれ	suppakere
Imperative (命令形)	酸っぱかれ	すっぱかれ	suppakare
Key constructions
Informal negative	酸っぱくない	すっぱくない	suppaku nai
Informal past	酸っぱかった	すっぱかった	suppakatta
Informal negative past	酸っぱくなかった	すっぱくなかった	suppaku nakatta
Formal	酸っぱいです	すっぱいです	suppai desu
Formal negative	酸っぱくないです	すっぱくないです	suppaku nai desu
Formal past	酸っぱかったです	すっぱかったです	suppakatta desu
Formal negative past	酸っぱくなかったです	すっぱくなかったです	suppaku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	酸っぱくて	すっぱくて	suppakute
Conditional	酸っぱければ	すっぱければ	suppakereba
Provisional	酸っぱかったら	すっぱかったら	suppakattara
Volitional	酸っぱかろう	すっぱかろう	suppakarō
Adverbial	酸っぱく	すっぱく	suppaku
Degree	酸っぱさ	すっぱさ	suppasa

Related terms

• 酸(す)い (sui, “sour”) (less common)

References

1. “酸”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
2. 酸っぱい／すっぱい - Gogen Yurai Jiten (in Japanese)
3. すっぱい【酸っぱい】の語源・由来 (Etymology/Origin of SUPPAI) - Etymology Encyclopedia (in Japanese)
4. “鹹映・塩映”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
5. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
6. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
7. 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN