熟音

Japanese

Kanji in this term
熟	音
じゅく Grade: 6	おん Grade: 1
goon

Etymology

熟 +‎ 音

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) じゅくおん [jùkúóń] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑɨkɯ̟õ̞ɴ]

Noun

熟(じゅく)音(おん) • (jukuon) 

1. (Japanese phonology) a mora with an onset consonant, such as か (ka) or が (ga)

   Antonyms: 単音, 母音

   Hyponyms: 子音, 濁音, 半濁音, 半母音

   • 1893 March, 宗司 大宮, “第三章　　濁音　半濁音及その文字 [Chapter 3: Muddy Sounds, Semi-Muddy Sounds and How to Write Them]”, in 日本辭林 [A Japanese Dictionary], Tokyo: Hakubunkan, page 10:

     五十音の外に、また、一種の熟音あり。これを濁音、及び、半濁音といふ。濁音とは、本音を濁りて呼ぶものにて、子音の中、加、佐、多、波、の四行の諸音をいふ。この音を示すには別に、その文字なく、本音の假字の肩に、二個の小點を加ふ。卽ち、左の如し。

     Gojūon no soto ni, mata, isshu no jukuon ari. Kore o dakuon, oyobi, handakuon to iu. Dakuon to wa, hon'on o nigorite yobu mono nite, shion no naka, ka, sa, ta, ha, no shigyō no shoon o iu. Kono on o shimesu ni wa betsu ni, sono moji naku, hon'on no kana no kata ni, niko no shōten o kuwau. Sunawachi, hidari no gotoshi.

     Outside the fifty sounds, there is yet another class of complex sounds. These are called ‘muddy sounds’ and ‘semi-muddy sounds’. Muddy sounds are the base child sounds of the four rows ka, sa, ta and ha, being muddied up when they are pronounced. There are no letters to specifically note these sounds, so two small dots are added on the shoulders of the kana for the base sounds, as shown on the left.

Usage notes

• 熟音 (jukuon) include the forty-three 子音 (shion), 濁音 (dakuon) and 半濁音 (handakuon), but not 母音 (boon).
• 清音 (seion) include the five 母音 (boon) of the あ行 (agyō, “a-row”) and the forty-three 子音 (shion) of the other rows, but not 濁音 (dakuon) or 半濁音 (handakuon).

See also

• 熟(じゅく)語(ご) (jukugo)
• 熟(じゅく)字(じ) (jukuji)