ズボン

See also: ずぼん

Japanese

Etymology

Borrowed from French jupon (“petticoat, underskirt”),^[1][2][3] from French jupe (“skirt”), from old Italian jupa, from Arabic جُبَّة (jubba, “long garment”). Doublet of 襦袢.

Note that the meaning has changed from “underskirt” to “trousers/pants”, and the second consonant has changed from /p/ to /b/, possibly influenced by native Japanese onomatopoeia ずぼん (zubon), describing the action of something sliding into place, as when one puts on or takes off trousers.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ズボン [zùbóꜜǹ] (Nakadaka – [2])^[3][2]
• (Tokyo) ズボン [zúꜜbòǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3][2]
• IPA^(key): [d͡zɨbõ̞ɴ]

Noun

ズボン • (zubon) 

1. trousers (AUS, UK), pants (AUS, Canada, US), strides (AUS), generally refers specifically to men's pants.

Synonyms

• スラックス (surakkusu)
• パンツ (pantsu)

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 鳶(とび)ズボン (tobi zubon): “hawk trousers” → trousers with a wide flare that then gathers again at the ankle, vaguely similar in appearance to cargo pants and commonly worn by construction workers in Japan
• 長(なが)ズボン (naga zubon)
• 半(はん)ズボン (han zubon)

References

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 (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
3. 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