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面 by itself means "face", while 白 by itself means "white". How did these two
words combine together to mean "interesting"?
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2012-09-25T13:46:17.667
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question
etymology
How did 面白い end up meaning "Interesting"?
According to 語源由来辞典 ( <http://gogen-allguide.com/o/omoshiroi.html> ), 「面白い」 is
originated from 「面白し」. 「面」 used to mean "a sight/view" (the source says the
front of eyes) and 「白い」 used to mean "bright and clear." Then 「面白し」 later came
to mean "a light/bright sight/view" and then later "a beautiful sight/view".
It further came to mean "fun" or "comfortable", which represents a pleasant
feeling.

For your information, "interesting" better translates to 「興味深い」 to be accurate
although it is often roughly translated as 「面白い」. 「面白い」 has several meanings
with different nuances.
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2012-09-25T15:23:10.800
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answer
The accepted origin of 面白い (omoshiroi - interesting) goes as follows.

面 (omote - the front) means whats in front of you.

白い (shiroi - white) means bright and clear.

These combine to mean that the scene in front of you is bright and clear. This
first took on the meaning of beautiful scenery and then was later used to
express a scene that is fun and enjoyable.

Thus, over time 面白い came to mean interesting.

There is another origin story which is probably based more on nostalgia for
the past rather than facts. It goes as follows.

In past times, people often spoke around the fire at nighttime. When somebody
said something interesting, the others' smiling faces would rise up and appear
white in the light of the fire. Thus, interesting talk leads to the whiteness
that appears before one's eyes.
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2019-01-19T08:50:27.613
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answer