玄関

See also: 玄關

Japanese

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Genkan

Wikipedia

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
玄	関
げん Grade: S	かん Grade: 4
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
玄關 (kyūjitai)

/ɡenkwan/ → /ɡenkan/.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) げんかん [géꜜǹkàǹ] (Atamadaka – [1])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [ɡẽ̞ŋkã̠ɴ]

Noun

玄(げん)関(かん) • (genkan) ^{←げんくわん (genkwan)?}

1. the entrance to a profound path; in particular an introduction to the Zen Buddhist discipline
2. the entrance to a Zen Buddhist temple
3. the place of entrance / exit in a Japanese home; usually recessed into the floor
   • 1603–1604, Nippo Jisho, page 296:

     Guenquan. ゲンクヮン (玄関) 茶の湯 (Chanoyu)へ行くのに通る道の入り口、または、門. また、ある人の家の中に入るのに通る奥の入口.

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

Derived terms

• 玄関帳(げんかんちょう) (genkanchō)
• 玄関番(げんかんばん) (genkanban)

Descendants

• → English: genkan

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
玄	関
げん Grade: S	かん > か Grade: 4
on'yomi

Alternative spelling
玄關 (kyūjitai)

From earlier genkan. genkwan > genkwa > genka. The final /a/ was likely nasalized. Common during the Edo period.

Noun

玄(げん)関(か) • (genka) ^{←げんくわ (genkwa)?}

1. same as 玄関 (genkan)
   • 1686: Shika no Makifude (鹿の巻筆) (page 182)

     浪人、「さてはいまのももんぐわあゆへ」と思ひながら、是非なく座敷をたちけり。玄関(げんくわ)口へ出ければ、又かのいたづらがき、玄関（げんか）のわきに居けり。

     (please add an English translation of this quotation)

References

• Doi, Tadao (1603–1604) Hōyaku Nippo Jisho (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, published 1980, →ISBN.
• Odaka, Toshio (1966) Nihon Koten Bungaku Taikei 100: Edo Shōwashū, Tōkyō: Iwanami Shoten, →ISBN

1. 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