汝妹

Japanese

Etymology

Old Japanese. From 汝 (na, variably first- or second-person pronoun: "I" or "you"; here used to mean "I") +‎ の (no, possessive particle) +‎ 妹 (imo, “a male's sister”). The no fused with the imo, likely to avoid hiatus in Old Japanese, which did not allow such vowel-vowel combinations.

First attested in 712.

Note that the usual possessive marker for pronouns was が (ga), as in 汝が (na ga, “thy; thine”) or 我が, 吾が (wa ga, a ga, “my”), as in 我が夫 (wa ga se, “my husband; my beloved man”), 吾妹 (wagimo, “my wife; my beloved woman”), 吾が君 (a ga kimi, “my lord”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key):

Noun

汝妹(なにも) • (nanimo) 

1. (archaic, men's speech) an intimate form of address for a female by a male: "my sister"

   Coordinate term: 汝兄 (nanimo, “a form of address for a male by a female: "my brother"”)

   愛(うつくしき)我(あが)那(な)邇(に)妹(もの)命(みこと)

   Utsukushiki a ga nanimo no mikoto

   Thine Augustness, my dear sister

References