岩乗な?
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岩乗な?
While reading Akutagawa's Mother, I came across this passage:
その向うには三階建の赤煉瓦にかすかな苔の生えた、逆光線の家が聳えている。薄暗いこちらの廊下にいると、出窓はこの家を背景にした、大きい一枚の画のように見える。岩乗な槲の窓枠が、ちょうど額縁を嵌めたように見える。
Is 岩乗な an error? Should this read 頑丈, or is the original an idiomatic way of saying rock-sturdy? We're talking about an oaken window sash that is like a great big picture frame, so it cannot actually be made of stone, if I'm reading it correctly .
その向うには三階建の赤煉瓦にかすかな苔の生えた、逆光線の家が聳えている。薄暗いこちらの廊下にいると、出窓はこの家を背景にした、大きい一枚の画のように見える。岩乗な槲の窓枠が、ちょうど額縁を嵌めたように見える。
Is 岩乗な an error? Should this read 頑丈, or is the original an idiomatic way of saying rock-sturdy? We're talking about an oaken window sash that is like a great big picture frame, so it cannot actually be made of stone, if I'm reading it correctly .
- Yudan Taiteki
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Re: 岩乗な?
I don't think it's an error, just a strange kanji usage. The word is still がんじょう. (The aozora bunko text has 巌乗な)
-Chris Kern
Re: 岩乗な?
I check dictionary and come to understand that this 頑丈 can mean strong, sturdy, massive, bulky and heavy. Not only applied to hard objects, it can also be used to describe a person (physical appearance), e.g. 頑丈な体の若者 means "a young person with strong and healthy body."
My dictionary says that 頑丈 was originally used to describe about a strong horse. The old word was 岩乗 and 岩畳.
My dictionary says that 頑丈 was originally used to describe about a strong horse. The old word was 岩乗 and 岩畳.
明鏡国語辞典:
もとは馬が強健であることをいった語。
古くは「岩乗」「岩畳」などとも当てた。
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Re: 岩乗な?
I forgot to mention, my source is the aozora bunko as well. I'm guessing the 乗 here means "power" or "set" (put, place) so the reading might be "rock-powerful" or "rock-set".
Nelson's gives 岩乗 as solid, firm, stout, as in "excellent horse"...Aha! Like riding a rock-solid horse, a "rock-ride"! Fascinating. That goes into my jwpce.
Thanks for your help!
Nelson's gives 岩乗 as solid, firm, stout, as in "excellent horse"...Aha! Like riding a rock-solid horse, a "rock-ride"! Fascinating. That goes into my jwpce.
Thanks for your help!
- Yudan Taiteki
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Re: 岩乗な?
Don't be misled by the kanji, the word is the same がんじょう as 頑丈, just written in a different way. There's no way to tell why Akutagawa chose those kanji 80 years ago.
-Chris Kern
Re: 岩乗な?
I have added 岩乗 as an alternative kanji form in the JMdict/EDICT entry for 頑丈. It should be online tomorrow.Yudan Taiteki wrote:Don't be misled by the kanji, the word is the same がんじょう as 頑丈, just written in a different way. There's no way to tell why Akutagawa chose those kanji 80 years ago.
Jim
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Re: 岩乗な?
jimbreen wrote:I have added 岩乗 as an alternative kanji form in the JMdict/EDICT entry for 頑丈. It should be online tomorrow.Yudan Taiteki wrote:Don't be misled by the kanji, the word is the same がんじょう as 頑丈, just written in a different way. There's no way to tell why Akutagawa chose those kanji 80 years ago.
Jim
Wow!
Re: 岩乗な?
Nah, not quite. I'm not 100% sure how this 乗 is used in Japanese, though.Eric wrote:
It has nothing to do with strength.
Now that I think of it, in Chinese, it has to be associated with whatever you're riding, e.g.
乘搭飛機 cheng da fei ji - by flight
乘搭地鐵 cheng da di tie - take MRT
乘风破浪 chéng fēng pò làng - ride the wind and waves (meaning: have great ambition and strength)
Chinese novel 『三国志演義』(さんごくしえんぎ), there's a 名馬 which 関羽 was riding, a 四字熟語 「一日千里」 was used to describe how an excellent horse could help his master to reach a place in a day's time. 馬に乗って, you need to be tough in order to ride the excellence horse. And also, 岩乗, you need so much power and strength to climb a rocky mountain. Since the word was original talking about the excellence horse, it kind of made sense to me.
In Hektor's passage, I think it's just emphasizing how solid and strong the oaken window frame was.
- Yudan Taiteki
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Re: 岩乗な?
Hmm, I may need to take back what I said -- the Koujien actually has separate entries for these words.
岩乗(がんじょう)
①馬の特にすぐれて強健なもの。
②人や物が堅固で強いこと。
頑丈(がんじょう)
堅固で丈夫なこと。「-な体」「やぐらをーに組み立てる」
The words are clearly related but I don't know whether they really can be considered the "same word" now...
岩乗(がんじょう)
①馬の特にすぐれて強健なもの。
②人や物が堅固で強いこと。
頑丈(がんじょう)
堅固で丈夫なこと。「-な体」「やぐらをーに組み立てる」
The words are clearly related but I don't know whether they really can be considered the "same word" now...
-Chris Kern
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Re: 岩乗な?
I now see the mathematical application. Thanks!
I hope to begin serious study of Chinese sometime fairly soon. It may be the wrong order, but that's how it worked out. Still, I'm hoping for that correlation & reinforcement of the of the On-yomi, at least.
I hope to begin serious study of Chinese sometime fairly soon. It may be the wrong order, but that's how it worked out. Still, I'm hoping for that correlation & reinforcement of the of the On-yomi, at least.