9332
For example:

  * て＋つな＝たづな（手綱）
  * め＋ふた＝まぶた（瞼・目蓋）
  * かね＋つち＝かなづち（金槌）

The only thing I can see for sure is that the second word becomes voiced, but
that's more of an after-the-fact thing than a rule that dictates when the
sound actually changes from e to a.

Is there a rule or pattern to it?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-06T05:08:12.207
9331
2012-11-06T05:24:52.693
2012-11-06T05:16:01.830
1797
1797
question
orthography
Are there rules for when 'e' becomes 'a' in compound words?
e does not become a. Rather, it is the other way around: a becomes e. More
specifically, there are two forms of e: e1 and e2. (See 上代特殊仮名遣) The rule is a
+ i > e2. Both e1 and e2 merge into e after Nara period.

For reference, these pairs are termed 被覆形 and 露出形. The form without the -i
suffix is 被覆形 while the -i suffixed form is 露出形.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-06T05:18:21.563
9332
2012-11-06T05:24:52.693
2012-11-06T05:24:52.693
1141
1141
9331
answer