相槌

Japanese

Kanji in this term
相	槌
あい Grade: 3	つち > づち Jinmeiyō
kun'yomi

Etymology

From あい (ai-, “mutual, together”) + 槌(つち) (tsuchi, “hammer”). The tsuchi changes to zuchi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) あいづち [àízúchí] (Heiban – [0])
• (Tokyo) あいづち [àízúchíꜜ] (Odaka – [4])
• IPA^(key): [a̠izɨt͡ɕi]

Noun

相(あい)槌(づち) • (aizuchi) ^{←あひづち (afiduti)?}

1. (archaic, smithing) (two persons) hammering an object at the same time [from 13th century]
   • [c. 1288, Chiribukuro, volume 8:

     鍛冶があひつちと云ふは、二人むかひてうつゆへ歟

     Kaji ga aizuchi to iu wa, futari mukai de utsu yue yo

     When a blacksmith says aizuchi they mean two people working face-to-face]

2. (construction) a large hammer used to drive a ridgepole, beam, or other large member [from 16th century]
3. customary signals made during a conversation to indicate comprehension or attentiveness; backchannelling [from 17th century]

Usage notes

In Japanese culture it is considered polite and necessary to indicate while listening that you are in fact listening. In this sense 相槌 is usually done through terse comments, affirmative grunts and other noises, and gesticulations such as a slight nodding of the head. While it is common to do this in the U.S., it is not as clearly defined a custom. Thus, it is not generally considered impolite when a person doesn't make such signals.

Derived terms

• 相槌(あいづち)を打(う)つ (aizuchi o utsu): chime in

Descendants

• → English: aizuchi

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.
• “あい‐づち”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎^[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2000-2002, released online 2007, →ISBN, concise edition entry available here