I would like to know whether a Japanese word combining at least two kanji can
combine both on'yomi and kun'yomi characters, within the same word.
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2016-10-28T10:43:23.017
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question
pronunciation onyomi
Can a Japanese word combine both on'yomi and kun'yomi characters?
The answer is yes. There are "重箱読み (ju-bako-yomi)" and "湯桶読み (yu-tou-yomi)" in
Japanese vocabulary (in 2 kanji words only).

重箱 is read as Ju-bako. "Ju" is on'yomi and "bako" is kun'yomi. Like this, it
is called 重箱読み when 1st kanji is on'yomi and 2nd kanji is kun'yomi.

湯桶 is read as Yu-tou. "Yu" is kun'yomi and "tou" is on'yomi. Like this, it is
called 湯桶読み when 1st kanji is kun'yomi and 2nd kanji is on'yomi.

Other examples:

> 王様(ou-sama) : on + kun --> 重箱読み  
>  味方(mi-kata) : on + kun --> 重箱読み  
>  丸太(maru-ta) : kun + on --> 湯桶読み  
>  見本(mi-hon ) : kun + on --> 湯桶読み
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2016-10-28T11:10:24.470
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answer
Sii's answer is a good one.

To add a clarification, you asked:

> Can a Japanese word combine both on'yomi and kun'yomi characters?

Japanese **characters** are neither _on'yomi_ or _kun'yomi_. The
**characters** are just graphical representations.

The words _on'yomi_ and _kun'yomi_ describe the **readings** for Japanese
characters (specifically _kanji_ ). That's actually what the _yomi_ part
means: it literally means "reading".

For kanji, most characters have multiple readings: usually at least one
_on'yomi_ , and usually at least one _kun'yomi_.

  * The word _on'yomi_ is spelled 音【おん】読【よ】み, literally meaning 音【おん】 ( _on_ , "sound") + 読【よ】み ( _yomi_ , "reading"). The _on'yomi_ pronunciation of any kanji usually derives from Middle Chinese, as the Japanese approximation of the **sound** of the Chinese word when it was borrowed from Middle Chinese over 1300 years ago.
  * The word _kun'yomi_ is spelled 訓【くん】読【よ】み, literally meaning 訓【くん】 ( _kun_ , "meaning") + 読【よ】み ( _yomi_ , "reading"). The _kun'yomi_ pronunciation of any kanji usually derives from native Japanese vocabulary, as the Japanese approximation of the **meaning** of the Chinese word when it was borrowed from Middle Chinese over 1300 years ago.

1300+ years is a long time, and some things have changed over that period.
Some kanji are even relatively recent inventions, such as 腺【せん】 ( _sen_ ,
"gland"). And language is always irregular. There are consequently exceptions
here and there, such as kanji that have only _on'yomi_ and no _kun'yomi_ (like
腺【せん】), or kanji that have only _kun'yomi_ and no _on'yomi_ (like 畑【はたけ】 [
_hatake_ , "dry cultivated field"]). There have also been sound shifts in both
Chinese and Japanese, so the Chinese word 十 is pronounced as _shí_ in
Mandarin, but as _jū_ in Japanese -- these both derive from Middle Chinese
pronunciation //d͡ʑiɪp̚// (roughly similar to the pronunciation of the English
word _Jeep_ ).

**To summarize** , remember that Japanese characters **have** _yomi_ , but the
characters themselves are not _yomi_.
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answer