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[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]Re: [Lingo] 上手・上手い
- Date: Wed, 18 Mar 2009 11:40:51 +0900
- From: "Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>
- Subject: Re: [Lingo] 上手・上手い
- References: <49BFBEF3.8080904@sonic.net> <d8fcc0800903171250r6d60171agc9b4441f41b4462a@mail.gmail.com>
Josh Glover writes: > 2009/3/18 steve smith <sjs@example.com>: > > > I recently received an email from a friend that used the word 上 > > 手い・う まい. It's the first time I'd seen it but was familiar > > already with 上 手・じょうず. These two look pretty similar in > > meaning with the exception that one is an i adjective and the > > other is a na adjective. > > Not quite. 上手い usually means "excellent", whereas 上手 is almost > always used to mean "skillful" or "good at". For example, some 焼き > そば can be上手い Actually, yakisoba is 旨い. Also occasionally 美い, 美味い or 甘い. 上手い and 上手な are synonymous AFAICT. 上手い is also spelled 巧い, it seems. うまい itself is actually used in two other senses. "Convenient" or "comfortable", etc (no exact English synonym, but usage like 面舌皛逅跂勉闕❹\xA6 まくいけた should make it clear), and "foolish" or "funny" (馬鹿な, まぬけ). This happens in English, too (try to give a rational connection between playing the piano and playing house, for example). > > Does anyone know if there is a reason for having the two words > > other than 'it just happened that way?' I'm sure there are are > > other words like that and I'm just curious. As Josh said, this is probably the difference between Yamato Japanese (和語 may be the linguist's term, but Yamato Japanese is what van Wolferen calls it), and Chinese-derived words. There are many, many such synonyms or close synonyms (eg, the common verb form is Yamato-derived and the common noun is Han-derived, or vice versa).
- References:
- [Lingo] 上手・上手い
- From: steve smith
- Re: [Lingo] 上手・上手い
- From: Josh Glover
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