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What is the type of word `～がかり`, e.g `気{き}がかり`

Is it noun, or adjective?
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2016-01-08T01:54:19.587
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2016-01-10T01:15:03.910
2016-01-08T02:03:31.370
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question
suffixes morphology parts-of-speech
About the words in format: ～がかり
My Japanese dictionary says it's a suffix. Suffixes are called 接尾語 in
Japanese.
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2016-01-08T03:26:35.357
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2016-01-08T03:26:35.357
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answer
It's the masu-form of the intransitive verb かかる ( _to relate_ , _to concern_ ,
etc), used as a noun. 気がかり is a compound noun made of 気 ( _mind_ ) + かかり (
_concerning_ ).

This `noun + masu-form` pattern is very often seen in Japanese nouns. Just to
name a few:

  * 綱引き (tug of war): 綱 (rope) + 引き (pulling)
  * 花見 (cherry-viewing): 花 (flower) + 見 (viewing)
  * 爪切り (nail clipper): 爪 (nail) + 切り (cutter)

I don't know whether the verbs in these words can be called suffixes, because
most verbs can be turned into nouns in this way. But they function like a
suffix, anyway.
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2016-01-08T07:39:09.867
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2016-01-08T07:39:09.867
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Practically all monolingual dictionaries will label 「気がかり」 as both a [名詞]{めいし}
and a [形容動詞]{けいようどうし}.

名詞： "noun"

形容動詞： "na-adjective" or "adjectival noun"

> 「Word X + **な** + Noun」

If the phrase above makes sense, then Word X can be called a 形容動詞 according to
Japanese "school grammar", which is the main school of grammar that is being
taught to our children all over the country as I type this.

Just as 「きれい **な** 人 (a beautiful woman)」, 「[元気]{げんき} **な** [子]{こ} (a perky
kid)」 and 「[簡単]{かんたん} **な** あいさつ (a brief greeting)」 make perfect sense, 「気がかり
**な** こと (a worrying matter)」 is grammatical and it makes perfect sense as
well.

Accordingly, 「気がかり」 can certainly be called a 形容動詞 just as 「きれい」, 「元気」 and
「簡単」 can. Thus, your textbook is correct on this matter.
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2016-01-10T01:15:03.910
30327
2016-01-10T01:15:03.910
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answer