あくどい

Japanese

Alternative spelling
悪どい (proscribed)

Etymology

First cited to 1694.^[1]

Ultimate derivation is unclear.

One reference derives this from prefix あ (a, of uncertain meaning) + 諄い (kudoi, “repetitive, tedious, clunky, long-winded, insistent”).^[2]
However, there is no apparent fitting prefix, only 亜 (a-, “sub-, -ous, -ite”, most often found in chemistry or biology).
Described in another source as deriving from 灰汁 (aku, “lye; harshness [as a characteristic of flavor or personality]”) + suffixing element どい (doi).^[3] This doi is probably from now-archaic adjective 利し・鋭し・疾し・敏し (toshi), modernized form とい (toi, “sharp, biting; fierce, vicious; fast, quick”).

Considering the senses, this might be a case of separately derived homophones, or a case where separate partially-similar terms influenced the meaning.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) あくどい [àkúdóꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]^[2]^[4]
IPA^(key): [a̠kɯ̟do̞i]

Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of あくどい

Plain	あくどい	あくどい	`[àkúdóꜜì]`
Conjunctive	あくどくて	あくどくてあくどくて	`[àkúdóꜜkùtè]` `[àkúꜜdòkùtè]`
Continuative	あくどく	あくどくあくどく	`[àkúdóꜜkù]` `[àkúꜜdòkù]`
Negative	あくどくない	あくどくないあくどくない	`[àkúdóꜜkù nàì]` `[àkúꜜdòkù nàì]`
Past	あくどかった	あくどかったあくどかった	`[àkúdóꜜkàttà]` `[àkúꜜdòkàttà]`
Negative past	あくどくなかった	あくどくなかったあくどくなかった	`[àkúdóꜜkù nàkàttà]` `[àkúꜜdòkù nàkàttà]`
Conditional	あくどければ	あくどければあくどければ	`[àkúdóꜜkèrèbà]` `[àkúꜜdòkèrèbà]`
Terminal	あくどい	あくどい	`[àkúdóꜜì]`
Formal	あくどいです	あくどいです	`[àkúdóꜜì dèsù]`

Adjective

あくどい • (akudoi) -i (adverbial あくどく (akudoku))

[from 1946] harsh of manner or personality; vicious, wily, unscrupulous, villainous
Synonym: (dishonest, unscrupulous) 悪徳 (akutoku)

あくどい手(しゅ)段(だん)を使(つか)う。
Akudoi shudan o tsukau.
They use dirty tricks.
[from 1694] persistent or stubborn of manner; cloying of flavor; garish or overdone of color or appearance
Synonyms: (persistent of manner or flavor) しつこい (shitsukoi), (overdone, garish) どぎつい (dogitsui)

Inflection

Inflection of **あくどい**
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	あくどかろ	akudokaro
Continuative (連用形)	あくどく	akudoku
Terminal (終止形)	あくどい	akudoi
Attributive (連体形)	あくどい	akudoi
Hypothetical (仮定形)	あくどけれ	akudokere
Imperative (命令形)	あくどかれ	akudokare
Key constructions
Informal negative	あくどくない	akudoku nai
Informal past	あくどかった	akudokatta
Informal negative past	あくどくなかった	akudoku nakatta
Formal	あくどいです	akudoi desu
Formal negative	あくどくないです	akudoku nai desu
Formal past	あくどかったです	akudokatta desu
Formal negative past	あくどくなかったです	akudoku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	あくどくて	akudokute
Conditional	あくどければ	akudokereba
Provisional	あくどかったら	akudokattara
Volitional	あくどかろう	akudokarō
Adverbial	あくどく	akudoku
Degree	あくどさ	akudosa

References

^ “あくどい”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ 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

[KDJ2-1] “あくどい”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006

[SMK5-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-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

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]