新しい

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
あたら
Grade: 2
kun'yomi

Etymology

/arataɕi//ataraɕi//ataraɕiki//ataraɕiː/

In Old Japanese, the original term was 新たし (aratashi), composed of older 新た (arata, new) + adjective-forming suffix (shi).[1][2] This persisted until at least the mid-1200s,[1] and indeed the adjective stem arata is both modern adjective 新た (arata, -na adjective) and the root of verbs such as 改める (aratameru, to renew, refresh, revise, or reform something). See 新た (arata) for further details of that etymology.

Starting from the 900s, the aratashi reading began shifting to atarashi. This metathesis may have been due to conflation with 可惜し (atarashi, magnificent, excellent, precious; regrettable).[1][3] The aratashi reading then became more and more uncommon in Early Middle Japanese, and the “new, modern, fresh” sense became the main use, superseding the largely homophonous 可惜し (atarashi) and pushing it out of common usage.[3]

The modern form is from the 連体形 (rentaikei, attributive form) of Early Middle Japanese adjective 新し (atarashi), with the medial /-k-/ falling out.

Displaced Old Japanese 新し (nipisi, adjective). This is reflected in the modern language as prefixing stem (nii-), which is no longer productive.

Pronunciation

  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「新しい
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 新しく たらしく
たらし

Terminal (終止形) 新しい たらし
Attributive (連体形) 新しい たらし
Key constructions
Informal negative 新しくない たらしくない
たらしくない

Informal past 新しかった たらしかった
たらしかった

Informal negative past 新しくなかった たらしくなかった
たらしくなかった

Formal 新しいです たらしいです
Conjunctive 新しくて たらしくて
たらしくて

Conditional 新しければ たらしければ
たらしければ

Adjective

(あたら)しい (atarashii-i (adverbial (あたら)しく (atarashiku))

  1. new, novel
    ()(した)には(あたら)しいものはない。
    Hi no shita ni wa atarashii mono wa nai.
    There is nothing new under the sun.
  2. latest, recent
  3. modern
  4. fresh

Inflection

Antonyms

Derived terms

Idioms

Proverbs

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 ”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 新しい/あたらしい”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, Etymology Derivation Dictionary) (in Japanese), 2003–2024.
  4. ^ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1974), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Second edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō