上辺

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
上	辺
うわ Grade: 1	べ Grade: 4
kun'yomi

Alternative spelling
上邊 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) うわべ [ùwábé] (Heiban – [0])^[1][2][3]
• IPA^(key): [ɯ̟β̞a̠be̞]

Noun

上(うわ)辺(べ) • (uwabe) 

1. on the surface, seeming, outward

   上(うわ)辺(べ)だけを見(み)て判断(はんだん)する

   uwabe dake o mite handan suru

   to judge a book by its cover

   (literally, “to judge after seeing only the surface”)

   うわべは

   uwabe wa

   ostensibly

2. pretended, superficial

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
上	辺
じょう Grade: 1	へん Grade: 4
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
上邊 (kyūjitai)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑo̞ːhẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

上(じょう)辺(へん) • (jōhen) 

1. upper side

References

1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2. 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
3. Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN