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Nouns in Japanese do not inflect for case, gender or number (but see 1.2.2 and 1.3). Their grammatical function is indicated by case particles (see 2). In Japanese writing, most nouns are written in kanji. For predicative use, nouns require the copula (see 7.5).
1.1 Types of noun
Generally, subgroups of nouns such as common nouns, abstract nouns, and proper nouns are often distinguished; in Japanese, however, this is a matter of meaning only. On the other hand, there are different strata of vocabulary in Japanese, which, though not exclusive to nouns, most typically exhibit the distinction between the four strata of vocabulary typical of Japanese ā Native, Sino-Japanese, Western-Japanese and Mixed formations. Some of these distinctions are also reflected in the way nouns are written, i.e. Western-Japanese nouns and parts of Mixed-Japanese nouns are written using katakana, while the remainder is usually written in kanji.
Although the distinction is not reflected in the form of the noun, animate nouns and inanimate nouns are distinguished in that they select different existential verbs. Another type of nouns that can be distinguished are relational nouns, which are used where English uses prepositions such as above, behind etc. to indicate a location. We can also distinguish time nouns, verbal nouns, honorific/humble nouns, and personal nouns.
1.1.1 | Native-Japanese (NJ) nouns |
Native-Japanese nouns (in length, single-morpheme words can range from one to five or six syllables/kana letters) are either written in kanji, kanji + kana, or kana alone (the hyphens show the boundaries between morphemes):
éµ | u | ācormorantā |
ē® | me | āeye(s)ā |
å· | kawa | āriver(s)ā |
å±± | yama | āmountain(s)ā |
å½ | inochi | ālifeā |
å±±ē»ć | yama-nobori | āmountaineeringā |
1.1.2 | Sino-Japanese (SJ) nouns |
Sino-Japanese words have entered the language at various stages, beginning from about the eighth century. They also played a major part in the modernization of the language in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, when new terminology entering from Europe was coined in Japan using Chinese character (kanji) roots. Almost all Sino-Japanese words are written in kanji, with one kanji being the equivalent of one morpheme or unit of meaning. One morpheme corresponds to a (short or long) syllable, (in some cases two syllables: aku āevilā, ichi āoneā, etc). Some SJ words consist of one kanji only, but the vast majority are made up of two or more.
č | i | āstomachā |
ęŖ | aku | āevilā |
ē¹ | ten | ādotā, āpointā |
ē· | sen | ālineā |
čØ | kei | ātotalā |
ē ē©¶ | ken-kyÅ« | āresearchā |
ēŗč¦ | hak-ken | ādiscoveryā |
ęē | ryÅ-ri | ācookingā |
ę²³å· | ka-sen | āriversā |
山岳 | san-gaku | āmountainsā |
山岳å°åøÆ | san-gaku-chi-tai | āmountainous areaā |
天ęå¦ | ten-mon-gaku | āastronomyā |
ēµęøęé· | kei-zai-sei-chÅ | āeconomic growthā |
Note the use of (usually) two-kanji SJ terms in written or formal (including scientific) context...
