おめでとう

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Japanese

Pronunciation

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings
御目出度う
御芽出度う
お目出度う
お芽出度う

/omedetaku/ → /omedetau/ → /omedetɔː/ → /omedetoː/

Originally a compound of 御 (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 愛でたく (medetaku, “admirably, auspiciously”), from adjective 愛でたい (medetai, “admirable, auspicious”).[2][3][1]

Modern Japanese -i adjectives formerly ended in -ki for the attributive form. This medial /k/ dropped out during the Muromachi period, both for the attributive form (-ki becoming -i) and for the adverbial form (-ku becoming -u). However, the adverbial form reverted back to -ku thereafter for most words, with the -u ending persisting in certain everyday set expressions, such as arigatō, ohayō, or omedetō, and in hyper-formal speech.

Interjection

おめでとう • (omedetō) ←おめでたう (omedetau)?

  1. congratulations, congrats
Usage notes

Most often written in hiragana. May occasionally be seen spelled in kanji, generally for more formal writing. The kanji spellings are examples of ateji. Usually followed by ございます (gozaimasu, “it is”, formal) in less casual contexts.[2][3][1]

Derived terms
Derived terms

Etymology 2

A pun on the congratulatory meaning of omedetō, using the common kanji spelling of 御目出 for the omede- portion and spelling the final -tō with the character 糖 (tō, “sugar”).[2][3][1]

Noun

おめでとう • (omedetō) ←おめでたう (omedetau)?

  1. 御目出糖: a type of Japanese sweet made from rice and azuki bean paste, eaten at times of celebration

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN

Further reading

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia