あくび

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative spellings

欠伸

Possibly from Old Japanese; first attested in the 新撰字鏡 (Shinsen Jikyō, Newly Compiled Mirror of Characters) of 898­­­–901 CE.[1]

Appears to be derived as the (れん)(よう)(けい) (ren'yōkei, stem or continuative form) of the verb あくぶ (akubu),[1][2] although this verb form isn't attested until the 枕草子 (Makura Sōshi, The Pillow Book) of 1002.[3]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) くび [àkúbí] (Heiban – [0])[3]
  • IPA(key): [a̠kɯ̟bʲi]

Noun

あくび • (akubi

  1. , 欠伸: [from 901] a yawn, yawning
    (あく)()(うつ)るよ
    akubi wa utsuru yo
    yawns are contagious.
  2. : the element in kanji characters
Derived terms
  • (あく)()(がた) (akubi-gata)
  • (なま)(あく)() (nama akubi)
Idioms
  • (あく)()()(ころ) (akubi o kamikorosu): “to bite down and kill a yawn” → to stifle a yawn

Verb

あくびする • (akubi suruintransitive suru (stem あくび (akubi shi), past あくびした (akubi shita))

  1. to yawn
Conjugation
Conjugation of "あくびする" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs)
Katsuyōkei ("stem forms")
Mizenkei ("imperfective") あくびし akubi shi
Ren’yōkei ("continuative") あくびし akubi shi
Shūshikei ("terminal") あくびする akubi suru
Rentaikei ("attributive") あくびする akubi suru
Kateikei ("hypothetical") あくびすれ akubi sure
Meireikei ("imperative") あくびせよ¹
あくびしろ²
akubi seyo¹
akubi shiro²
Key constructions
Passive あくびされる akubi sareru
Causative あくびさせる
あくびさす
akubi saseru
akubi sasu
Potential あくびできる akubi dekiru
Volitional あくびしよう akubi shiyō
Negative あくびしない akubi shinai
Negative continuative あくびせず akubi sezu
Formal あくびします akubi shimasu
Perfective あくびした akubi shita
Conjunctive あくびして akubi shite
Hypothetical conditional あくびすれば akubi sureba

¹ Written imperative
² Spoken imperative

Etymology 2

For pronunciation and definitions of あくび – see the following entry.
悪日
[noun] unlucky day on a calendar
[noun] any unlucky day
(This term, あくび (akubi), is the hiragana spelling of the above term.)
For a list of all kanji read as あくび, see Category:Japanese kanji read as あくび.

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (1995), 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. 3.0 3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN