隠語

See also: 隱語

Japanese

Kanji in this term
隠	語
いん Grade: S	ご Grade: 2
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
隱語 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Sino-Japanese compound; from 隠(いん) (in, “hidden”) + 語(ご) (go, “language, word”).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) いんご [ìńgó] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ĩŋɡo̞]

(Kyōto) いんご [ìngó] (Teiki – [0])^[1]^[3]

(Kagoshima) いんご [ínꜜgò] (type A)^[3]

Noun

隠(いん)語(ご) • (ingo)

a cant, argot, cryptolect, slang, jargon (a language meant to only be used in secret within a particular group or for mutuality)
Synonym: 隠し詞 (kakushikotoba)
Examples:
- 叩(たた)き (tataki, “a robbery (theft by force or violence) ← beating”, used by thieves)
- でか (deka, “detective”, originally used by thieves, but now used as general slang)
a riddle
vulgar or obscene language
a cipher

Usage notes

隠(いん)語(ご) (ingo) is used for slang restricted to a certain group, i.e. a cant or argot, while 俗(ぞく)語(ご) (zokugo) is used interchangeably with スラング (surangu) for slang that is in widespread use.

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Dai-ni-han Henshū I'inkai (日本国語大辞典第二版編集委員会) (2001-2002), 日本国語大辞典　第二版 [Unabridged Japanese Dictionary: Second Edition], Tokyo (東京都): Shōgakukan (小学館), →ISBN
^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →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

“隠語”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

[NKD2P-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Nihon Kokugo Daijiten Dai-ni-han Henshū I'inkai (日本国語大辞典第二版編集委員会) (2001-2002), 日本国語大辞典　第二版 [Unabridged Japanese Dictionary: Second Edition], Tokyo (東京都): Shōgakukan (小学館), →ISBN

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

[ZAJ-3] 3.0 ^3.1 ^3.2 Hirayama, Teruo, editor (1960), 全国アクセント辞典 (Zenkoku Akusento Jiten, “Nationwide Accent Dictionary”) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Tōkyōdō, →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

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