在来線

Japanese

Kanji in this term
在	来	線
ざい Grade: 5	らい Grade: 2	せん Grade: 2
goon

Alternative spelling
在來線 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Compound of 在来(ざいらい) (zairai, “preexisting”) + 線(せん) (sen, “line”). Originally, this referred to any existing line when a new line was built that served roughly the same area. While this meaning persists, with the advent of the shinkansen, the term gained a meaning in certain contexts to refer to the conventional railway lines as opposed to the bullet train lines.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ざいらいせん [zàíráíséń] (Heiban – [0])^[2]
IPA^(key): [d͡za̠iɾa̠isẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

在(ざい)来(らい)線(せん) • (zairaisen)

an older or pre-existing rail line, as opposed to any newer line servicing the same area
the non-high-speed rail railway lines, the regular train lines as opposed to the shinkansen

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988), 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]