玄関

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See also: 玄關

Japanese

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Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
玄 関
げん
Grade: S 		かん
Grade: 4
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
玄關 (kyūjitai)

/ɡenkwan/ → /ɡenkan/.

Pronunciation

Noun

玄(げん)関(かん) • (genkan) ←げんくわん (genkwan)?

  1. the entrance to a profound path; in particular an introduction to the Zen Buddhist discipline
  2. the entrance to a Zen Buddhist temple
  3. the place of entrance / exit in a Japanese home; usually recessed into the floor
    • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho, page 296:
      Guenquan. ゲンクヮン (玄関) 茶の湯 (Chanoyu)へ行くのに通る道の入り口、または、門. また、ある人の家の中に入るのに通る奥の入口.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → English: genkan

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
玄 関
げん
Grade: S 		かん > か
Grade: 4
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
玄關 (kyūjitai)

From earlier genkan. genkwan > genkwa > genka. The final /a/ was likely nasalized. Common during the Edo period.

Noun

玄(げん)関(か) • (genka) ←げんくわ (genkwa)?

  1. same as 玄関 (genkan)
    • 1686: Shika no Makifude (鹿の巻筆) (page 182)
      浪人、「さてはいまのももんぐわあゆへ」と思ひながら、是非なく座敷をたちけり。玄関(げんくわ)口へ出ければ、又かのいたづらがき、玄関（げんか）のわきに居けり。
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

  1. ^ 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
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