けんけん

Japanese

Etymology

Attested from at least the 18th century. There are two theories of the word’s origin: either from 蹴(け)る (keru, “kick, stomp”) via reduplication as 蹴蹴, or onomatopoeic from the sound of foot-falls.^[1]

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): [kẽ̞ŋkẽ̞ɴ]

Noun

けんけん • (kenken)

hopping, jumping on one foot
Synonym: 片足跳び (kata-ashi tobi)

けんけん跳(と)ぶ
kenken tobu
move by hopping, hop

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[1]