奈良

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 奈良. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 奈良, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 奈良 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 奈良 you have here. The definition of the word 奈良 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of奈良, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.

Chinese

phonetic
trad. (奈良) 奈 良
simp. #(奈良) 奈 良

Etymology

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese 奈良 (Nara).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

奈良

  1. (～縣) Nara (a prefecture of Japan)
  2. (～市) Nara (a city in Nara Prefecture, Japan)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
奈 良
な
Grade: 4
(ateji) 		ら
Grade: 4
(ateji)
goon nanori
Alternative spellings
寧楽
平城
Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia ja
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Etymology

From Old Japanese. Attested from at least the early 700s.[1] The kanji are ateji (当て字).

Various ancient spellings suggest forms ending in -ku or -ki. This latter element is not attested past the Old Japanese stage:

奈羅, 那羅, 楢, 儺羅 名良, 奈良, 那良 那楽, 寧楽 平城 →  ⟨nara⟩  ⟨nara⟩  ⟨naraku⟩  ⟨naraki2⟩ →   /nara/  */naraᵑ/  */narakʉ/  */narakɨ/ → /nara/

According to the Nihon Shoki (720 CE), the placename is derived from the Japanese verb 均す, 平す (narasu, “to flatten”).[2] In The Study of Place Names, Kunio Yanagida stated, “Nara stands for ‘flatland’.”[3]

However, an analysis of Old Japanese phonetic spellings (man'yōgana) reveals that the city name was often spelled with a final -ku or -ki element, which makes it phonologically unlikely that the city name derives directly from the verb narasu. The root from which the verb itself derives, nar-, appears in various terms related to “flat” or “flatness”, a fitting descriptor for the local geography. The final -ku or -ki element in the ancient spellings may be Old Japanese 城 (ki2 → ki, “palisade, stronghold, fortress, castle”), as also suggested in the alternative kanji spelling 平城 (literally “flat stronghold”). See also the discussion of the city name's etymology on Wikipedia.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

奈(な)良(ら) • (Nara) 

  1. a placename, especially:
    1. Short for 奈良県 (Nara-ken): Nara (a prefecture of Japan)
    2. Short for 奈良市 (Nara-shi): Nara (the capital city of Nara Prefecture)
  2. a surname

Derived terms

Derived terms

See also

References

  1. ^ “奈良・平城・寧楽”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ On the tenth year of Emperor Sujin's reign, Water Rat day of the ninth month, “then, leading selected soldiers, (the rebels) went forward, climbed Nara-yama (hills lying to the north of Heijō-kyō) and put them in order. Now the imperial forces gathered and flattened trees and plants. Therefore, the mountain is called Nara-yama.”
  3. ^ 柳田国男 YANAGIDA Kunio (1936), 『地名の研究』 (The Study of Place Names), 古今書院, pp.217-219
  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), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Old Japanese

Alternative forms

Etymology

From the Nihon Shoki (720 CE):

則率二精兵一、進登二那羅山一而軍之。時官軍屯聚、而蹢二跙草木一。因以號二其山一曰二那羅山一。〈蹢跙、此云二：布瀰那羅須一〉
The selected soldiers went forward, climbed Nara-yama, and put them in order. Now the imperial forces gathered and flattened trees and plants. Therefore, the mountain is called Nara-yama (“Flattened” is read as fuminarasu).

However, analysis of phonetic spellings reveals that the placename was often spelled with a final -ku or -ki2 element.

Proper noun

奈良 (Nara) (kana なら)

  1. a placename in 大和 (Yamato2, “Yamato Province”), the seat of power of the ancient Yamato court

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Japanese: 奈良 (Nara)

See also

Wikious
Boobota
Sagapedia