絶対

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See also: 絕對 and 绝对

Japanese

Kanji in this term
絶 対
ぜつ > ぜっ
Grade: 5 		たい
Grade: 3
goon
Alternative spellings
絕對 (kyūjitai)
絶待 (obsolete)

Etymology

Coined by Japanese philosopher Inoue Tetsujirō in 1881 in his work 哲学字彙 (Tetsugaku Jii, “Dictionary of Philosophy”) as a calque of English absolute, based on the Profound Meaning of the Lotus Sutra (《法華玄義》), changing the spelling from 絶待 to 絶対.[1][2][3]

Pronunciation

Adjective

絶(ぜっ)対(たい) • (zettai) -na (adnominal 絶(ぜっ)対(たい)な (zettai na), adverbial 絶(ぜっ)対(たい)に (zettai ni))

  1. absolute, limitless
  2. certain, definite

Adverb

絶(ぜっ)対(たい) • (zettai) 

  1. absolutely, definitely, certainly

Usage notes

Seldom used on its own as a な-adjective, but more commonly in compounds. More often used adverbially on its own as 絶対に (zettai ni). More often used adjectivally as 絶対的 (zettaiteki).

Inflection

Inflection of 絶対
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 絶対だろ ぜったいだろ zettai daro
Continuative (連用形) 絶対で ぜったいで zettai de
Terminal (終止形) 絶対だ ぜったいだ zettai da
Attributive (連体形) 絶対な ぜったいな zettai na
Hypothetical (仮定形) 絶対なら ぜったいなら zettai nara
Imperative (命令形) 絶対であれ ぜったいであれ zettai de are
Key constructions
Informal negative 絶対ではない
絶対じゃない 		ぜったいではない
ぜったいじゃない 		zettai de wa nai
zettai ja nai
Informal past 絶対だった ぜったいだった zettai datta
Informal negative past 絶対ではなかった
絶対じゃなかった 		ぜったいではなかった
ぜったいじゃなかった 		zettai de wa nakatta
zettai ja nakatta
Formal 絶対です ぜったいです zettai desu
Formal negative 絶対ではありません
絶対じゃありません 		ぜったいではありません
ぜったいじゃありません 		zettai de wa arimasen
zettai ja arimasen
Formal past 絶対でした ぜったいでした zettai deshita
Formal negative past 絶対ではありませんでした
絶対じゃありませんでした 		ぜったいではありませんでした
ぜったいじゃありませんでした 		zettai de wa arimasen deshita
zettai ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive 絶対で ぜったいで zettai de
Conditional 絶対なら（ば） ぜったいなら（ば） zettai nara (ba)
Provisional 絶対だったら ぜったいだったら zettai dattara
Volitional 絶対だろう ぜったいだろう zettai darō
Adverbial 絶対に ぜったいに zettai ni
Degree 絶対さ ぜったいさ zettaisa

Synonyms

Antonyms

Noun

絶(ぜっ)対(たい) • (zettai) 

  1. absoluteness, an absolute, unlimitedness

Synonyms

Antonyms

Derived terms

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. ^ “絶対”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  3. ^ Inoue, Tetsujirō (1881) 哲学字彙 [Dictionary of Philosophy]‎, University of Tokyo, page 1
  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
  5. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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