す

す U+3059, す HIRAGANA LETTER SU ← じ Hiragana ず →

Stroke order

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji 寸 in the cursive sōsho style.

• IPA^(key):

• During the period from Old through Early Middle Japanese, the pronunciation may have ranged between /su/ and /ɕu/. There are some man'yōgana spellings that use 周, deriving from Middle Chinese 周 (MC tsyuw).

す • (su) 

1. The hiragana syllable す (su). Its equivalent in katakana is ス (su). It is the thirteenth syllable in the gojūon order; its position is さ行う段 (sa-gyō u-dan, “row sa, section u”).

• ず (zu)

From Old Japanese. Found in the Kojiki of 712,^[1] and included in the Man'yōshū with the phonetic man'yōgana spelling 須 (su).^[2] In turn, from Proto-Japonic *su.

• (Tokyo) す (Atamadaka – )^[3][4][5]
• (Tokyo) す (Heiban – )^[3][4][5]
• IPA^(key):

す • (su) ^{←す (su)?}

1. 巣, 栖, 窼: nest, hive, den

   クモの巣(す)

   kumo no su

   spider's web

   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 5, poem 892:

     可麻度柔播(かまどには)／火氣布伎多弖受(かきふきたてず)／許之伎尓波(こしきには)／久毛能(くもの)須(す)可伎弖(かきて)... [Man'yōgana]

     竃(かまど)には／火気(かき)吹(ふ)き立(た)てず／甑(こしき)には／蜘蛛(くも)の巣(す)かきて... [Modern spelling]

     kamado ni pa / kaki pukitatezu / kosiki ni pa / kumo no su kakite...

     without blowing on the embers in the woodstove, and with cobwebs in the steamer...

From Old Japanese, from Proto-Japonic *su. Ultimate derivation uncertain.

• Perhaps a native Japanese term, with the su reading somehow related to the way that very sour things cause one to pucker.
• Alternatively, from Middle Chinese 醋 (MC tshuH). Borrowed earlier (vinegar was historically introduced to Japan in the 300-400s from China) than the systematic introduction of kanji, thus later mistaken as a native Japanese term. Compare modern Mandarin 醋 (cù) or Cantonese 醋 (cou³).

• (Tokyo) す (Atamadaka – )^[3][4][5]
• IPA^(key):

す • (su) ^{←す (su)?}

1. 酢, 醋, 酸: vinegar (condiment)

   バルサミコ酢(す)

   barusamiko-su

   balsamic vinegar

• ビネガー (binegā)

From Old Japanese.^[6]

Possibly a loanword from Middle Chinese 州 (MC tsyuw).^[6]

• (Tokyo) す (Heiban – )^[6][3]
• (Tokyo) す (Atamadaka – )^[3]
• IPA^(key):

す • (su) ^{←す (su)?}

1. 州, 洲: sandbank, sandbar

From Old Japanese.

す • (su) 

1. (archaic) to do
2. (archaic) to cause, become

• する (suru, modern form)
• 為為(すす) (susu)

The original form of the causative ending. Ultimately cognate with す (su), the ancient form of modern する (suru, “to do”).

In a modern synchronic analysis, sometimes analyzed as a contraction of せる (seru).

す • (-su) godan (stem し (-shi), past した (-shita))

1. (chiefly dialectal and colloquial) Alternative form of せる (seru, “causative suffix”)

From Proto-Japonic *su.

す (su)

1. to do
2. to happen, occur
   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 15, poem 3624:

     和礼乃未夜欲布祢波許具登於毛敞礼婆於伎敝能可多爾可治能於等須奈里

     ware no₂mi₂ ya yo₁pune pa ko₂gu to₂ omope₁reba oki₁pe₁ no₂ kata ni kadi no₂ oto₂ su nari

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

3. to be in a state of something
4. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.
   • 711–712, Kojiki, section 20:

     佐韋賀波用久毛多知和多理宇泥備夜麻許能波佐夜芸奴加是布加牟登須

     Sawi-gapa yo₁ kumo₁ tatiwatari Unebi₂-yama ko₂no₂pa sayagi₁nu kaze pukamu to₂ su

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

• Japanese: す (su) → する (suru)
  • Kagoshima dialect: すっ (su')

Attaches to 未然形 (mizenkei, “irrealis or incomplete form”) of 四段活用 (yodan katsuyō, “quadrigrade conjugation”) and サ行変格活用 (sa-gyō henkaku katsuyō, “s-irregular conjugation”) verbs.

す (-su)

1. indicates light respect and slight affection
   • 711–712, Kojiki, poem 2:

     ...佐加志賣遠阿理登岐加志弖久波志賣遠阿理登伎許志弖佐用婆比爾阿理多多斯用婆比阿理加用婆勢...

     ...sakasi me₁ wo ari to₂ ki₁kasite kupasi me₁ wo ari to₂ ki₁ko₂site sa-yo₁bapi₁ ni ari tatasi yo₁bapi₁ ni ari kayo₁pase

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

   • c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 1, poem 1:

     ...此岳尓菜採須兒家吉閑名告紗根...

     ...ko₂no₂ woka ni na tumasu ko₁ ipe₁ ki₁kana no₂rasane...

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Possibly cognate with modern Korean 새 (sae, “bird”).

す (-su)

1. representing birds

• 鶯 (ugupi₁su)
• 烏 (karasu)
• ほととぎす (poto₂to₂gi₁su)
• もず (mo₁zu)