三味線

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Chinese

three taste
 
thread; string; wire
thread; string; wire; line
trad. (三味線/三味綫) 三 味 線/綫
simp. (三味线) 三 味 线

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 三味線 (shamisen).

Pronunciation

Noun

三味線

  1. shamisen (Japanese three-stringed instrument)

See also

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
三 味 線
さ > しゃ
Grade: 1
(ateji) 		み
Grade: 3
(ateji) 		せん
Grade: 2
irregular goon on’yomi
三味線 (shamisen, samisen): a street performer playing a shamisen.
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The instrument derives from the Okinawan 三線 (sanshin). Originally called 蛇皮線 (jabisen, literally “snakeskin strings”) in Japanese, so named for the way the Okinawan instrument's soundbox is traditionally covered in snakeskin. The traditional jabisen instrument was imported into the Sakai area of Osaka during the Eiroku era (1558–1570), then later modified by biwa luthiers to have the square-shaped shamisen soundbox of today.

The reading jabisen shifted over time to 蛇味線 (jamisen), replacing the 皮 (bi, “skin, leather”) character with 味 (mi) for phonetic reasons, i.e. as ateji (当て字). Then jamisen changed to shamisen, replacing the 蛇 (ja, “snake”) character with 三 (sha , usually read san, “three”) for semantic reasons. The sha reading for the 三 character is irregular.

The shamisen reading is first cited to a text from 1580.

Pronunciation

Noun

三(しゃ)味(み)線(せん) • (shamisen) ←しやみせん (syamisen)?

  1. a Japanese stringed instrument played by plucking, vaguely similar to a banjo
    Synonyms: 三線 (sansen), 三弦 (sangen), 三味 (shami), ぺんぺん (penpen)
  2. short for 三味線草 (shamisen-gusa): the shepherd's purse, Capsella bursa-pastoris
    Synonyms: 薺 (nazuna), ぺんぺん草 (penpen-gusa)
  3. from 三味線を弾く (shamisen o hiku, literally “to play the shamisen”): words or actions intended to deceive one's opponent in a game or competition
  4. (academia, slang) a grade of 甲 (kō, highest mark, equivalent to an “A” in US schools) (from the vague visual similarity between the character 甲 and the shape of the shamisen)
Derived terms
Derived terms
Idioms
Descendants
  • → English: shamisen
  • → Finnish: shamisen
  • → Spanish: shamisen

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
三 味 線
さ
Grade: 1
(ateji) 		み
Grade: 3
(ateji) 		せん
Grade: 2
nanori goon on’yomi

Sound shift from shamisen above, possibly influenced by the standard san reading of the initial 三 character.

This reading appears to be less common than shamisen.

First cited to a text from 1632.

Pronunciation

Noun

三(さ)味(み)線(せん) • (samisen) 

  1. (uncommon) a Japanese stringed instrument played by plucking, vaguely similar to a banjo
    Synonym: 三味 (sami)
Derived terms
Derived terms
Descendants

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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