ぺちゃくちゃ
Japanese
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Alteration from べちゃくちゃ (bechakucha), an onomatopoeia for a large number of people talking noisily.[1][2] The shift from initial /b/ to /p/ changes the meaning from an emphasis on noisy to an emphasis on lively. Compare English gabble, chatter, yackety-yak.
Also analyzable as a compound of root elements:
- ぺちゃ (pecha): onomatopoeia for lively talking, evocative of the sound of lips and tongues smacking; also onomatopoeia for the sound of water splashing against something.
- くちゃ (kucha): onomatopoeia for the sound of paper crumpling; by extension, indicates that something is being done in a confused or disorganized fashion.
Pronunciation
[edit]Adverb
[edit]ぺちゃくちゃ or ペチャクチャ • (pechakucha)
- continuously and in a lively fashion (talking)
Related terms
[edit]Related terms
- べちゃくちゃ (bechakucha): continuously and noisily (talking)
- ぺちゃぺちゃ (pechapecha): continuously and in a lively fashion (talking); splashingly
- くちゃくちゃ (kuchakucha): crumplingly, wrinklingly, in a confused or disorganized fashion
- めちゃくちゃ (mechakucha): all messed up
References
[edit]- ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
- ^ 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