土砂降り
Japanese
| Kanji in this term | ||
|---|---|---|
| 土 | 砂 | 降 |
| ど Grade: 1 |
しゃ Grade: 6 |
ふ > ぶ Grade: 6 |
| kan'yōon | goon | kun'yomi |
| Alternative spellings |
|---|
| どしゃ降り 土砂降 |
Etymology
Compound of 土砂 (dosha, “soil and sand”) + 降り (furi, “falling”, the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 降る furu, “to fall”, such as rain or other precipitation).[1][2] The furi changes to buri as an instance of rendaku (連濁).
According to some sources,[3] the dosha portion is from adverb どしゃくしゃ (doshakusha, “in a confusion, in a turmoil”), with the 土砂 spelling used as ateji (当て字). According to other sources,[1] the dosha portion is a metaphor for heavy rain.
First appears in texts from the early 1900s.[1]
Compare the English expressions to rain cats and dogs, or to rain pitchforks and hammer handles.
Pronunciation
Noun
土砂降り • (doshaburi)
Usage notes
Unlike the synonyms, doshaburi is only used in reference to rain, and is not used to describe snowfall.
Synonyms
- 本降り (honburi): a real rainfall (also describes snowfall)
- 大降り (ōburi): a big rainfall (also describes snowfall)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ 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