可愛い

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
可	愛
か Grade: 5 (ateji)	あい > わい Grade: 4 (ateji)
on'yomi	irregular

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

可愛い

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English Wikipedia has an article on:

Kawaii

Wikipedia

/kawajui/ → /kawaiː/

Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below.^[1]

The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当て字), and uses an irregular reading of 愛. The phonological resemblance to Chinese 可愛／可爱 (kě'ài, “lovable”, Mandarin kě'ài, Min Nan khó-ài) is coincidental. Note that the medial -w- here is not an excrescence added between ka (可) and ai (愛), since the word is not formed from these morphemes.

Already realized phonetically as /kawaiː/ by the early 1600s, and possibly found alongside older form kawayui, as seen in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.^[2]

Alternative forms

(informal, cutesy) かあいい (kāii), きゃわいい (kyawaii)
(slang) カワユス (kawayusu), かわE(いい) (kawaii)

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) かわいい [kàwáíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]^[4]
IPA^(key): [ka̠β̞a̠ii]
Audio: (file)

Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「可愛い」

Stem forms
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Continuative (連用形)	可愛く	かわいくかわいく	`[kàwáꜜìkù]` `[kàwáíꜜkù]`
Terminal (終止形)	可愛い	かわいい	`[kàwáíꜜì]`
Attributive (連体形)	可愛い	かわいい	`[kàwáíꜜì]`
Key constructions
Informal negative	可愛くない	かわいくないかわいくない	`[kàwáꜜìkùnàì]` `[kàwáíꜜkùnàì]`
Informal past	可愛かった	かわいかったかわいかった	`[kàwáꜜìkàttà]` `[kàwáíꜜkàttà]`
Informal negative past	可愛くなかった	かわいくなかったかわいくなかった	`[kàwáꜜìkùnàkàttà]` `[kàwáíꜜkùnàkàttà]`
Formal	可愛いです	かわいいです	`[kàwáíꜜìdèsù]`
Conjunctive	可愛くて	かわいくてかわいくて	`[kàwáꜜìkùtè]` `[kàwáíꜜkùtè]`
Conditional	可愛ければ	かわいければかわいければ	`[kàwáꜜìkèrèbà]` `[kàwáíꜜkèrèbà]`

Adjective

可(か)愛(わい)い • (kawaii) ^{←かはいい (kafaii)^?}-i (adverbial 可(か)愛(わい)く (kawaiku))

lovable, beloved
可(か)愛(わい)い子(こ)には旅(たび)をさせよ
kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
spare the rod and spoil the child
(literally, “send your beloved child on a journey”)
cute, adorable
Synonyms: (Tōhoku, Hokkaido) めんこい, (Tsugaru) めごい

かわいい子(こ)と付(つ)き合(あ)う
kawaii ko to tsukiau
to go out with (date) a cute girl

食(た)べちゃいたいくらい可愛(かわい)い
tabechaitai kurai kawaii
so cute I could just eat you up
- 2003 September 22, Akinobu Uraku, “第(だい)63(ろくじゅうさん)話(わ)　幼(おさな)い記(き)憶(おく) [Chapter 63: Childish Memories]”, in 東(とう)京(きょう)アンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 11 (fiction), Square Enix, →ISBN, page 99:
  
  暴(あば)れなきゃ可(か)愛(わい)い顔(かお)なんだよな
  Abarenakya kawaii kao na n da yo na
  Her face when she’s not mad is actually pretty cute.
- 2018, Aka Akasaka, “第(だい)92(きゅうじゅうに)話(わ)　かぐや様(さま)を照(て)れさせたい [Chapter 92: He Wants to Make Kaguya-sama Feel Embarrassed]”, in かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜 [Kaguya-sama Wants to Make Him Confess: The Intellectual Battle of Love Between Geniuses], volume 10 (fiction), Shueisha:
  
  私(わたし)なんかより藤(ふじ)原(わら)さんの方(ほう)が可(か)愛(わい)いですよ
  Watashi nanka yori Fujiwara-san no hō ga kawaii desu yo
  Fujiwara's more cute than I am.
  可(か)愛(わい)さと綺(き)麗(れい)さは別(べつ)物(もの)だろ
  Kawaisa to kireisa wa betsumono daro
  Cuteness and beauty aren't the same now, are they?

Usage notes

Often spelled in hiragana.

Inflection

Inflection of 可愛い

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	可愛かろ	かわいかろ	kawaikaro
Continuative (連用形)	可愛く	かわいく	kawaiku
Terminal (終止形)	可愛い	かわいい	kawaii
Attributive (連体形)	可愛い	かわいい	kawaii
Hypothetical (仮定形)	可愛けれ	かわいけれ	kawaikere
Imperative (命令形)	可愛かれ	かわいかれ	kawaikare
Key constructions
Informal negative	可愛くない	かわいくない	kawaiku nai
Informal past	可愛かった	かわいかった	kawaikatta
Informal negative past	可愛くなかった	かわいくなかった	kawaiku nakatta
Formal	可愛いです	かわいいです	kawaii desu
Formal negative	可愛くないです	かわいくないです	kawaiku nai desu
Formal past	可愛かったです	かわいかったです	kawaikatta desu
Formal negative past	可愛くなかったです	かわいくなかったです	kawaiku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	可愛くて	かわいくて	kawaikute
Conditional	可愛ければ	かわいければ	kawaikereba
Provisional	可愛かったら	かわいかったら	kawaikattara
Volitional	可愛かろう	かわいかろう	kawaikarō
Adverbial	可愛く	かわいく	kawaiku
Degree	可愛さ	かわいさ	kawaisa

Derived terms

可(か)愛(わい)そう, 可(か)哀(わい)相(そう), 可(か)哀(わい)想(そう) (kawaisō): pitiful, pitiable, poor, sad
可(か)愛(わい)がる (kawaigaru): to think that someone or something is cute, to be sweet on someone or something
可(か)愛(わ)い気(げ) (kawaige): cuteness, lovableness
可(か)愛(わい)らしい (kawairashii): cute-like, cute-looking
可(か)愛(わい)くない (kawaikunai)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
可	愛
かわゆ
Grade: 5	Grade: 4
jukujikun

From classical Japanese /kawo hajuɕi/ → /kawajui/.

A contraction of classical 顔映し (kawahayushi, “embarrassing, shameful”). The meaning evolved from shameful to evoking pity, to evoking compassion, and then to lovable.^[1] The kanji spelling appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓), from the above reading. Compare Korean 예쁘다 (yeppeu-da), which originally meant poor (as in "poor, poor kid") but now means pretty.

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) かわゆい [kàwáyúꜜì] (Nakadaka – [3])^[3]
IPA^(key): [ka̠β̞a̠jɯ̟i]

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Adjective

可愛(かわゆ)い • (kawayui) ^{←かはゆい (kafayui)^?}-i (adverbial 可愛(かわゆ)く (kawayuku))

embarrassed, having a guilty conscience: see 顔映し (kawahayushi).
(obsolete) pitiable, pitiful
- 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
  Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij.
  (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.
  Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij.
  (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.
  (please add an English translation of this quotation)
lovable, adorable, cute

Inflection

Inflection of 可愛い

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	可愛かろ	かわゆかろ	kawayukaro
Continuative (連用形)	可愛く	かわゆく	kawayuku
Terminal (終止形)	可愛い	かわゆい	kawayui
Attributive (連体形)	可愛い	かわゆい	kawayui
Hypothetical (仮定形)	可愛けれ	かわゆけれ	kawayukere
Imperative (命令形)	可愛かれ	かわゆかれ	kawayukare
Key constructions
Informal negative	可愛くない	かわゆくない	kawayuku nai
Informal past	可愛かった	かわゆかった	kawayukatta
Informal negative past	可愛くなかった	かわゆくなかった	kawayuku nakatta
Formal	可愛いです	かわゆいです	kawayui desu
Formal negative	可愛くないです	かわゆくないです	kawayuku nai desu
Formal past	可愛かったです	かわゆかったです	kawayukatta desu
Formal negative past	可愛くなかったです	かわゆくなかったです	kawayuku nakatta desu
Conjunctive	可愛くて	かわゆくて	kawayukute
Conditional	可愛ければ	かわゆければ	kawayukereba
Provisional	可愛かったら	かわゆかったら	kawayukattara
Volitional	可愛かろう	かわゆかろう	kawayukarō
Adverbial	可愛く	かわゆく	kawayuku
Degree	可愛さ	かわゆさ	kawayusa

References

↑ ^1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[KDJ-1] 1.0 ^1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[2] 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.

[DJR-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-4] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

可愛い

Contents

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adjective

Usage notes

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

See also

References

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可愛い

Japanese

Etymology 1

Alternative forms

Pronunciation

Adjective

Usage notes

Inflection

Derived terms

Etymology 2

Pronunciation

Adjective

Inflection

See also

References

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