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Today in a comment on a Japanese forum I said:

> 日本語には主に「漢語」、「和語」、「外来語」三つの語彙体系があります。漢語というのは中国語から借用された語彙体系です。例：漢語、高校、勉強。
> 二文字の言葉はほとんど漢語です、カタカナ語がほとんど外来語のように。ファン：外来語。質問：漢語。分かる：和語。

Then someone said I was wrong (yeah literally said 「違います」):

> 音読みの熟語の多くが漢語ですよ。湯桶読みや重箱読みの熟語は和語です。

They are a native speaker, but I thought I'd read quite a bit on this and I
was confident enough to write a retort. But on second thought I am not that
certain. I am not sure if my statement「二文字の言葉はほとんど漢語」was accurate. I have read
relevant wiki pages in both languages and some Japanese sites, but still
haven't found a definitive answer to this.

My understanding is there are a lot of two-character words coined in Japan
that later found their way to China and became part of the modern Chinese
language. So does it mean most 訓読み, 湯桶読み, 重箱読み words are 和語? If possible,
please include authoritative sources.
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question
words etymology wago-and-kango
Strictly speaking, are 重箱読み and 湯桶読み mostly 漢語 or 和語, or 50-50?
I don't know the "authoritative definition", but according to [Japanese
Wikipedia](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%BC%A2%E8%AA%9E#%E6%B7%B7%E7%A8%AE%E8%AA%9E),
重箱/湯桶 words are not kango:

>
> 「雑木」を「ぞうき」と読むような重箱読みや、「夕刊」を「ゆうかん」と読むような湯桶読みは、和語と漢語を複合させた混種語（和漢混淆語）であり、漢語の範疇ではない。

I think this explanation is natural. They are [hybrid
words](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_word)
([混種語](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%B7%B7%E7%A8%AE%E8%AA%9E)). Hybrids
are hybrids, and you should not force them into the classic three categories.

  * ケーキ屋: gairaigo-wago hybrid
  * カップ麺: gairaigo-kango hybrid
  * 重箱: kango-wago hybrid
  * 折れ線グラフ: wago-kango-gairaigo hybrid

> there are a lot of two-character words coined in Japan that later found
> their way to China and became part of the modern Chinese language.

This is true, but [和製漢語](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wasei-kango) normally
refers to _on_ -only compounds newly coined by Japanese people, such as 自転車
and 野球.
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answer