98230
I was wondering, what are the Japanese names for Chinese swords like the Dao
and the Jian, surely there is a Japanese pronunciation of the Characters for
said swords.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-19T03:37:39.077
98227
2023-01-19T09:07:22.323
2023-01-19T09:07:22.323
5229
55411
question
words kanji chinese
Japanese names for Chinese swords?
* The kanji 刀 is primarily read as かたな in kun-yomi, but とう (on-yomi) is also used in on-yomi compounds. Note that this word refers not only to Chinese ones but to single-edged swords/knives in general, including Western sabers and Japanese katana. To specifically refer to Chinese dao, we simply use [中国刀](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%88%80) (ちゅうごくとう).
  * The kanji 剣 (劍) is primarily read as けん in on-yomi, but つるぎ (kun-yomi) is common, too. This refers to double-edged swords in general, including [something like this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Master_Sword). To specifically refer to Chinese jian, we simply use [中国剣](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%AD%E5%9B%BD%E5%89%A3) (ちゅうごくけん).

Related: [Can an odachi be called a
katana?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/97555/5010)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-01-19T04:52:22.007
98230
2023-01-19T04:52:22.007
5010
98227
answer