View source for Rendaku

{{Short description|Consonant change in Japanese compound words}}
{{Italic title|reason=[[:Category:Japanese words and phrases]]}}

{{nihongo|'''''Rendaku'''''|[[wikt:連濁|連濁]]||{{IPA|ja|ɾendakɯ}}, {{literal translation|sequential voicing}}}} is a pronunciation change seen in some [[Compound (linguistics)|compound words]] in [[Japanese language|Japanese]]. When rendaku occurs, a [[Voicelessness|voiceless]] consonant (such as {{IPA|/t k s h/}}) is [[Consonant voicing and devoicing|replaced with a voiced consonant]] (such as {{IPA|/d ɡ z b/}}) at the start of the second (or later) part of the compound. For example, the [[morpheme]] {{Nihongo3|paper||kami}} starts with the voiceless consonant {{IPA|/k/}} when used as an independent word or as the first part of a compound word, but this is replaced with the corresponding voiced consonant {{IPA|/ɡ/}} in the compound word {{lang|ja|origami}}, from {{Nihongo3|fold||ori}} + {{Nihongo3|||kami}}. 

Although rendaku is common, it does not occur in all compound words. A rule known as Lyman's law blocks rendaku when the second element already contains a voiced obstruent phoneme ({{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, or {{IPA|/b/}}). For instance, in {{Nihongo3|sea breeze||umikaze}}, the {{IPA|/k/}} in {{Nihongo3|wind||kaze}} remains voiceless because {{IPA|/kaze/}} contains {{IPA|/z/}}.{{sfn|Vance|2015|p=402}} Rendaku is also blocked almost always when the second element of a compound is a [[Loanwords in Japanese|recent loan into Japanese]]. Furthermore, rendaku may fail to occur even in contexts where no definite blocking factor is present.

In the [[Japanese writing system]], rendaku affects how a morpheme is spelled when using one of the [[kana|kana syllabaries]]: it causes the ''[[dakuten]]'' ("voicing mark", written as ゛) to be added to the upper right corner of the kana character that represents the first consonant and vowel in the second element of the compound. This is seen when comparing the [[hiragana]] spelling of {{lang|ja|'''ka'''mi}} ({{lang|ja|'''か'''み}}) to that of {{lang|ja|ori'''ga'''mi}} ({{lang|ja|おり'''が'''み}}). Rendaku is not marked in writing when a morpheme is spelled using [[kanji]] ([[logograph]]s taken from [[Chinese characters]]). For example, {{Nihongo3|paper||kami}} is written with the kanji character {{lang|ja|紙}}, which is unchanged when used in the spelling of {{Nihongo3||折り'''紙'''|ori'''gami'''}}.

Linguistically, rendaku involves aspects of both pronunciation ([[phonology]]) and word structure ([[Morphology (linguistics)|morphology]]), and so is categorized as a [[Morphophonology|morphophonological]] phenomenon. 

== Effects ==
{| style="float: right; padding-right: 10px; font-size: 130%"
|+ style="font-size: 65%" | Consonants (in [[Hepburn romanization|Hepburn]]) undergoing ''rendaku''{{sfn|Low|2009|p=5}}
|- style="font-size: 73%"
!Unvoiced  !! !! Voiced 
|-
| k || → || g
|-
| s, sh || → || z, j
|-
| t, ch, ts || → || d, j, z
|-
| h, f || → || b
|}
Rendaku replaces a voiceless [[obstruent]] consonant with a voiced consonant sound. For example, the [[voiceless alveolar plosive]] {{IPA|[t]}} becomes the [[voiced alveolar plosive]] {{IPA|[d]}} in the context of rendaku. In this case, the new consonant retains the same [[Manner of articulation|manner]] and [[place of articulation]] as the original consonant. However, rendaku can also cause additional changes depending on the sounds involved.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=1-3, 51}}

===Pronunciation===

In the context of [[Japanese phonology]], some consonant sounds that seem distinct to English speakers, and that have distinct spellings in [[Hepburn romanization]], are analyzed as [[allophones]] (contextual variants of a [[phoneme]]).{{sfn|Labrune|2012|pp=59, 88}} The following table describes the effects of rendaku in the standard variety of Japanese, using both phonemic transcriptions (marked by slashes, such as {{IPA|/s/}}) and [[Phonetic_transcription#Narrow_versus_broad;_phonemic_versus_phonetic|phonetic transcriptions]] (marked by square brackets, such as {{IPA|[ɕ]}}).

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Consonants eligible for rendaku
|-
! colspan="3" | Original consonant
! colspan="3" | Consonant after rendaku
|-
! Phoneme
! Allophones
! Romanization
! Phoneme
! Allophones
! Romanization
|-
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|/t/}}
| {{IPAblink|t}} || {{Nihongo|||'''t'''}} || {{IPA|/d/}} || {{IPAblink|d}} || {{Nihongo|||'''d'''}}
|-
| {{IPAblink|ts}} || {{Nihongo|||'''ts'''}} || rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/d/}} or {{IPA|/z/}} || {{IPAblink|dz}} or {{IPAblink|z}} || {{Nihongo|||'''z'''}}
|-
| {{IPAblink|tɕ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''ch'''}} || {{IPAblink|dʑ}} or {{IPAblink|ʑ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''j'''}}
|-
| rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/s/}}
| {{IPAblink|s}} || {{Nihongo|||'''s'''}} || rowspan="2" | {{IPA|/z/}} || {{IPAblink|dz}} or {{IPAblink|z}} || {{Nihongo|||'''z'''}} 
|-
| {{IPAblink|ɕ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''sh'''}} || {{IPAblink|dʑ}} or {{IPAblink|ʑ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''j'''}} 
|-
| {{IPA|/k/}}
| {{IPAblink|k}} || {{Nihongo|||'''k'''}} || {{IPA|/ɡ/}} || {{IPAblink|ɡ}} or {{IPAblink|ŋ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''g'''}} 
|-
| rowspan="3" | {{IPA|/h/}}
| {{IPAblink|ɸ}} || {{Nihongo|||'''f'''}} || rowspan="3" | {{IPA|/b/}} || rowspan="3" | {{IPAblink|b}} || rowspan="3" | {{Nihongo|||'''b'''}}
|-
| {{IPAblink|h}} || rowspan="2" | {{Nihongo|||'''h'''}} 
|-
| {{IPAblink|ç}}{{efn|More specifically, {{IPA|[çi]}} becomes {{IPA|[bi]}}: the outcome can be more narrowly transcribed as {{IPA|[bʲi]}}. However, when {{IPA|[ç]}} comes before a vowel other than {{IPA|/i/}}, it can be analyzed phonemically as {{IPA|/hj/}}: this becomes {{IPA|[bʲ]}} (phonemically {{IPA|/bj/}}) in the context of rendaku. For example, {{lang|ja|ura}} 'back side' + {{lang|ja|hyōshi}} 'book cover' gives {{lang|ja|urabyōshi}} 'back cover', with rendaku turning {{IPA|/hjoːsi/}} into {{IPA|/bjoːsi/}} (phonetically {{IPA|[çoːɕi]}} and {{IPA|[bʲoːɕi]}} respectively).}}
|}

Depending on the accent and age of a speaker, the [[voiced velar nasal]] {{IPA|[ŋ]}} may be [[Japanese_phonology#Velar_nasal_onset|used in Japanese]] as an alternative to the [[voiced velar stop]] {{IPA|[ɡ]}}, mainly in cases where the consonant occurs in the middle of a word. For speakers who use {{IPA|[ŋ]}} in the middle of words, {{IPA|[k]}} is replaced with {{IPA|[ŋ]}} in the context of rendaku.{{sfn|Vance|1987|p=114}} The sounds {{IPA|[ŋ]}} and {{IPA|[ɡ]}} are typically analyzed as allophones of a single phoneme {{IPA|/ɡ/}} (although some phonologists have argued they are distinct phonemes for the minority of speakers who consistently distinguish them).{{sfn|Shibatani|1990|p=172}}{{sfn|Vance|2008|p=222}}

The voiceless [[affricate]]s {{IPA|[ts tɕ]}} are commonly analyzed as allophones of {{IPA|/t/}}. Originally, {{IPA|[ts tɕ]}} corresponded to voiced affricate sounds {{IPA|[dz dʑ]}}, whereas {{IPA|[s ɕ]}} corresponded to voiced fricative sounds {{IPA|[z ʑ]}}.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=41, 173, 322, 384-385, 387-388}} However, the historical distinction between {{IPA|[dz dʑ]}} and {{IPA|[z ʑ]}} has been lost in the Tokyo-based standard (though not in all regional varieties of Japanese). The merged sounds may be pronounced either as voiced affricates or voiced fricatives, regardless of etymology (see ''[[yotsugana]]''). Therefore, historical {{IPA|/du/}} and {{IPA|/zu/}} have merged as phonetic {{IPA|[(d)zɯ]}}, and historical {{IPA|/di/}} and {{IPA|/zi/}} have merged as phonetic {{IPA|[(d)ʑi]}}.{{sfn|Labrune|2012|pp=63, 65}} In the context of rendaku, dialects with the merger may be analyzed as possessing an underlying phonemic distinction between {{IPA|/du di/}} and {{IPA|/zu zi/}} that becomes neutralized on the phonetic level as {{IPA|[dzɯ dʑi]}}.{{sfn|Shibatani|1990|page=165}} Alternatively, {{Harvnb|Frellesvig|2010|p=41}} treats rendaku as replacing the phoneme {{IPA|/t/}} with {{IPA|/z/}} before {{IPA|/u i/}}. A third approach is taken by {{Harvnb|Vance|2022}}, who rejects the identification of {{IPA|[ts tɕ]}} as allophones of {{IPA|/t/}}, and instead postulates five voiceless phonemes {{IPA|/t ts s tɕ ɕ/}} and three voiced phonemes {{IPA|/d (d)z (d)ʑ/}}, with rendaku turning {{IPA|/t/}} into {{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ts s/}} into  {{IPA|/(d)z/}}, and {{IPA|/tɕ ɕ/}} into {{IPA|/(d)ʑ/}}, respectively.{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=2}}{{efn|In Vance's phonemic transcriptions, the non-IPA symbols {{IPA|/c č š ǰ/}} are used to represent the sounds {{IPA|[ts t̠ɕ ɕ (d̠)ʑ]}}, and {{IPA|/z/}} is used to represent the variably affricated {{IPA|[(d)z]}} sound.{{sfn|Vance|2008|pp=81-85, 226-229}}}} 

Rendaku turns the [[voiceless glottal fricative]] {{IPA|/h/}} into the [[voiced bilabial plosive]] {{IPA|/b/}}. This is because Japanese {{IPA|/h/}} descends originally from a [[voiceless bilabial plosive]] *{{IPA|/p/}}. Before the end of the 16th century, *{{IPA|/p/}} developed into a [[voiceless bilabial fricative|bilabial fricative]] {{IPA|[ɸ]}} or [[voiceless labiodental fricative|labiodental fricative]] {{IPA|[f]}}.{{efn|This stage is documented by the transcriptions seen in a 1603 Japanese-to-Portuguese dictionary, [[Nippo Jisho|''Vocabulario da Lingoa de Iapam'']], which uses spellings such as ''fa, fi, fe, foka'' for words that are romanized currently as ''ha, hi, he, hoka''.}}{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=205, 311, 314-315}} Then, during the 17-18th centuries, this {{IPA|[ɸ]}} or {{IPA|[f]}} developed into glottal {{IPA|[h]}} before {{IPA|/a e o/}} and palatal {{IPA|[ç]}} before {{IPA|/i/}} or {{IPA|/j/}}, remaining {{IPA|[ɸ]}} only before the vowel phoneme {{IPA|/u/}} (which is currently pronounced {{IPA|[ɯ]}}). As a result, in modern Japanese, rendaku replaces {{IPA|[ha çi ɸɯ he ho]}} with {{IPA|[ba bi bɯ be bo]}}.{{efn|As shown in the table, the three sounds {{IPA|[h ç ɸ]}} can be analyzed as allophones of a single phoneme {{IPA|/h/}}, which means {{IPA|[ha çi ɸɯ he ho]}} can be transcribed phonemically as {{IPA|/ha hi hu he ho/}}. However, {{Harvnb|Vance|2008|pp=77-80}} departs from this analysis: he treats {{IPA|[h ç]}} as allophones, but prefers to treat {{IPA|[ɸ]}} as its own phoneme, since in loanwords, {{IPA|[ɸ]}} and {{IPA|[h]}} contrast before vowels other than {{IPA|/u/}}. Therefore, Vance transcribes {{IPA|[ha çi ɸɯ he ho]}} as {{IPA|/ha hi fu he ho/}}.}}

===Spelling===

It is possible to characterize rendaku in terms of its effect on a morpheme's Japanese [[kana]] spelling: it adds the ''[[dakuten]]'' (voicing mark) to the first kana of the affected morpheme.{{sfn|Kawahara|2018}} The relevant [[graphemes]] are shown in the tables below (excluding [[yōon]] digraphs, which are formed by taking an i-column kana and placing a small ''ya, yu,'' or ''yo'' kana after it).

When morphemes that begin with the morae ''chi'' ({{lang|ja|ち}}/{{lang|ja|チ}}) and ''tsu'' ({{lang|ja|つ}}/{{lang|ja|ツ}}) undergo rendaku, the resulting morae  ''ji'' and  ''zu'' are generally spelled with the kana {{lang|ja|ぢ}}/{{lang|ja|ヂ}} and {{lang|ja|づ}}/{{lang|ja|ヅ}}, rather than the identically pronounced {{lang|ja|じ}}/{{lang|ja|ジ}} and {{lang|ja|ず}}/{{lang|ja|ズ}}.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=173-174, 385}} This is not a strict rule, however, and is relaxed in certain older compounds or names, especially those that are not easily recognized as compounds.

<div style=display:inline-grid>
{| class="wikitable nowraplinks" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="vertical-align:top;padding:2px;"
|+[[Hiragana]] characters affected by rendaku
|-
!rowspan=2 width=2%|
! style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; background:#BECFEB;" colspan=5 width="50%"|Before rendaku
|-
!width=10%| ''a'' !!width=10%| ''i'' !!width=10%| ''u'' !!width=10%| ''e'' !!width=10%| ''o''
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''K''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[か]]</big><br /> ka {{IPA|ja|ka|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[き]]</big><br /> ki {{IPA|ja|ki|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[く]]</big><br /> ku {{IPA|ja|kɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[け]]</big><br /> ke {{IPA|ja|ke|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[こ]]</big><br /> ko {{IPA|ja|ko|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''S''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[さ]]</big><br /> sa {{IPA|ja|sa|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[し]]</big><br /> '''shi''' {{IPA|ja|ɕi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[す]]</big><br /> su {{IPA|ja|sɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[せ]]</big><br /> se {{IPA|ja|se|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[そ]]</big><br /> so {{IPA|ja|so|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''T''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[た]]</big><br /> ta {{IPA|ja|ta|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ち]]</big><br /> '''chi''' {{IPA|ja|tɕi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[つ]]</big><br /> '''tsu''' {{IPA|ja|tsɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[て]]</big><br /> te {{IPA|ja|te|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[と]]</big><br /> to {{IPA|ja|to|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''H''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[は]]</big><br /> ha {{IPA|ja|ha|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ひ]]</big><br /> hi {{IPA|ja|çi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ふ]]</big><br /> '''fu''' {{IPA|ja|ɸɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[へ]]</big><br /> he {{IPA|ja|he|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ほ]]</big><br /> ho {{IPA|ja|ho|}}
|-
|colspan=9|
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!rowspan=2|
!colspan=5 style="background:#BECFEB;"|After rendaku (with [[dakuten]])
|-
! ''a'' !! ''i'' !! ''u'' !! ''e'' !! ''o''
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''G''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[が]]</big><br /> ga {{IPA|ja|ɡa|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぎ]]</big><br /> gi {{IPA|ja|ɡi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぐ]]</big><br /> gu {{IPA|ja|ɡɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[げ]]</big><br /> ge {{IPA|ja|ɡe|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ご]]</big><br /> go {{IPA|ja|ɡo|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''Z''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ざ]]</big><br /> za {{IPA|ja|(d)za|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[じ]]</big><br /> '''ji''' {{IPA|ja|(d)ʑi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ず]]</big><br /> zu {{IPA|ja|(d)zɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぜ]]</big><br /> ze {{IPA|ja|(d)ze|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぞ]]</big><br /> zo {{IPA|ja|(d)zo|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''D''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[だ]]</big><br /> da {{IPA|ja|da|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぢ]]</big><br /> '''ji''' {{IPA|ja|(d)ʑi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[づ]]</big><br /> '''zu''' {{IPA|ja|(d)zɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[で]]</big><br /> de {{IPA|ja|de|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ど]]</big><br /> do {{IPA|ja|do|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''B''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ば]]</big><br /> ba {{IPA|ja|ba|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[び]]</big><br /> bi {{IPA|ja|bi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぶ]]</big><br /> bu {{IPA|ja|bɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[べ]]</big><br /> be {{IPA|ja|be|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ぼ]]</big><br /> bo {{IPA|ja|bo|}}
|}
</div>
<div style=display:inline-grid>
{| class="wikitable nowraplinks" border="0" cellpadding="2" style="vertical-align:top;padding:2px;"
|+[[Katakana]] characters affected by rendaku
|-
!rowspan=2 width=2%|
! style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center; background:#BECFEB;" colspan=5 width="50%"|Before rendaku
|-
!width=10%| ''a'' !!width=10%| ''i'' !!width=10%| ''u'' !!width=10%| ''e'' !!width=10%| ''o''
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''K''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[カ]]</big><br /> ka {{IPA|ja|ka|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[キ]]</big><br /> ki {{IPA|ja|ki|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ク]]</big><br /> ku {{IPA|ja|kɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ケ]]</big><br /> ke {{IPA|ja|ke|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[コ]]</big><br /> ko {{IPA|ja|ko|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''S''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[サ]]</big><br /> sa {{IPA|ja|sa|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[シ]]</big><br /> '''shi''' {{IPA|ja|ɕi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ス]]</big><br /> su {{IPA|ja|sɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[セ]]</big><br /> se {{IPA|ja|se|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ソ]]</big><br /> so {{IPA|ja|so|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''T''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[タ]]</big><br /> ta {{IPA|ja|ta|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[チ]]</big><br /> '''chi''' {{IPA|ja|tɕi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ツ]]</big><br /> '''tsu''' {{IPA|ja|tsɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[テ]]</big><br /> te {{IPA|ja|te|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ト]]</big><br /> to {{IPA|ja|to|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''H''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ハ]]</big><br /> ha {{IPA|ja|ha|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ヒ]]</big><br /> hi {{IPA|ja|çi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[フ]]</big><br /> '''fu''' {{IPA|ja|ɸɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ヘ]]</big><br /> he {{IPA|ja|he|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ホ]]</big><br /> ho {{IPA|ja|ho|}}
|-
|colspan=9|
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!rowspan=2|
!colspan=5 style="background:#BECFEB;"|After rendaku (with [[dakuten]])
|-
! ''a'' !! ''i'' !! ''u'' !! ''e'' !! ''o''
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''G''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ガ]]</big><br /> ga {{IPA|ja|ɡa|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ギ]]</big><br /> gi {{IPA|ja|ɡi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[グ]]</big><br /> gu {{IPA|ja|ɡɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ゲ]]</big><br /> ge {{IPA|ja|ɡe|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ゴ]]</big><br /> go {{IPA|ja|ɡo|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''Z''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ザ]]</big><br /> za {{IPA|ja|(d)za|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ジ]]</big><br /> '''ji''' {{IPA|ja|(d)ʑi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ズ]]</big><br /> zu {{IPA|ja|(d)zɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ゼ]]</big><br /> ze {{IPA|ja|(d)ze|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ゾ]]</big><br /> zo {{IPA|ja|(d)zo|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''D''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ダ]]</big><br /> da {{IPA|ja|da|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ヂ]]</big><br /> '''ji''' {{IPA|ja|(d)ʑi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ヅ]]</big><br /> '''zu''' {{IPA|ja|(d)zɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[デ]]</big><br /> de {{IPA|ja|de|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ド]]</big><br /> do {{IPA|ja|do|}}
|- style="vertical-align:top; text-align:center"
!''B''
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[バ]]</big><br /> ba {{IPA|ja|ba|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ビ]]</big><br /> bi {{IPA|ja|bi|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ブ]]</big><br /> bu {{IPA|ja|bɯ|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ベ]]</big><br /> be {{IPA|ja|be|}}
|style="background:#EFFAFA"|<big>[[ボ]]</big><br /> bo {{IPA|ja|bo|}}
|}
</div>

===Examples===
The following table shows an example of rendaku for each major allophone of the eligible consonant sounds:

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Rendaku examples
|-
! Change
! Example
|-
| {{IPA|[t]}} {{Nihongo|||'''t'''}} → {{IPA|[d]}} {{Nihongo|||'''d'''}} || {{Nihongo3|fire|ひ|hi}} + {{Nihongo3|seed|'''た'''ね|'''t'''ane}} → {{Nihongo3|spark|ひ'''だ'''ね|hi'''d'''ane}}{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=127}}
|-
| {{IPA|[ts]}} {{Nihongo|||'''ts'''}} → {{IPA|[(d)z]}} {{Nihongo|||'''z'''}} || {{Nihongo3|ant|あり|ari}} + {{Nihongo3|mound|'''つ'''か|'''ts'''uka}} → {{Nihongo3|anthill|あり'''づ'''か|ari'''z'''uka}}{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=2}}
|-
| {{IPA|[tɕ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''ch'''}} → {{IPA|[(d)ʑ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''j'''}} || {{Nihongo3|nose|はな|hana}} + {{Nihongo3|blood|'''ち'''|'''ch'''i}} → {{Nihongo3|nosebleed|はな'''ぢ'''|hana'''j'''i}}{{sfn|Vance|2015|pp=397, 399}}
|-
| {{IPA|[s]}} {{Nihongo|||'''s'''}} → {{IPA|[(d)z]}} {{Nihongo|||'''z'''}} || {{Nihongo3|black|くろ|kuro}} + {{Nihongo3|sugar|'''さ'''とう|'''s'''atō}} → {{Nihongo3|brown sugar|くろ'''ざ'''とう|kuro'''z'''atō}}{{sfn|Labrune|2012|p=112}}
|-
| {{IPA|[ɕ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''sh'''}} → {{IPA|[(d)ʑ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''j'''}} || {{Nihongo3|vertical|たて|tate}} + {{Nihongo3|stripe|'''し'''ま|'''sh'''ima}} → {{Nihongo3|vertical stripe|たて'''じ'''ま|tate'''j'''ima}}{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=2}}
|-
| {{IPA|[k]}} {{Nihongo|||'''k'''}} → {{IPA|[ɡ~ŋ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''g'''}} || {{Nihongo3|hand|て|te}} +  {{Nihongo3|paper|'''か'''み|'''k'''ami}} → {{Nihongo3|letter|て'''が'''み|te'''g'''ami}}
|-
| {{IPA|[ɸ]}} {{Nihongo|||'''f'''}} → {{IPA|[b]}} {{Nihongo|||'''b'''}} || {{Nihongo3|river|かわ|kawa}} + {{Nihongo3|boat|'''ふ'''ね|'''f'''une}}  → {{Nihongo3|river boat|かわ'''ぶ'''ね|kawa'''b'''une}}{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=2}}
|-
| {{IPA|[h]}} {{Nihongo|||'''h'''}} →  {{IPA|[b]}} {{Nihongo|||'''b'''}} || {{Nihongo3|back|せ|se}} + {{Nihongo3|bone|'''ほ'''ね|'''h'''one}} → {{Nihongo3|backbone|せぼね|se'''b'''one}}{{sfn|Labrune|2012|p=113}}
|-
| {{IPA|[ç]}} {{Nihongo|||'''h'''}} → {{IPA|[b]}} {{Nihongo|||'''b'''}} || {{Nihongo3|flower|はな|hana}} + {{Nihongo3|fire|'''ひ'''|'''h'''i}} → {{Nihongo3|firework|はな'''び'''|hana'''b'''i}}
|}

== Historical origin ==

The voiced obstruent consonants of modern Japanese come from the [[prenasalized]] obstruents of [[Old Japanese]].{{sfn|Vance|2022|page=6}} Rendaku may have originated from the fusion of consonants with preceding nasal sounds derived from reduction of either the genitive postposition {{Nihongo||の|no}}{{sfn|Ito|Mester|1986|p=57}} or the dative postposition {{Nihongo||に|ni}}.{{sfn|Vance|2015|pp=401-402}} For example, {{Nihongo3|copper pheasant|やまどり|yamadori}} may be derived from {{lang|ojp|yama-no-tori}} "mountain-{{sc|gen}} bird", by means of {{lang|ojp|no}} fusing with the following {{IPA|/t/}} to form prenasalized {{IPA|[ⁿd]}} in Old Japanese.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=35, 40-41, 198}} This hypothesis helps explain why rendaku is not found in all compound words. If some compounds were originally formed with {{lang|ojp|no}} or {{lang|ojp|ni}}, but others were formed through simple juxtaposition of roots, then rendaku would develop regularly only in the first category.{{sfn|Vance|1982|p=338}}{{sfn|Vance|2015|pp=401-402}}

By the Old Japanese period, rendaku had already become grammatically distinct from constructions with {{lang|ja|no}} or {{lang|ja|ni}}. This is shown by the use of forms such as {{lang|ojp|nadori}} "your bird": a corresponding phrase with {{lang|ojp|no}} would be ungrammatical, since the genitive of the pronoun {{lang|ojp|na}} "you" was formed exclusively with the postposition {{lang|ojp|ga}}.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=41}}

==Conditions==
Rendaku occurs most frequently in compounds where the second element is a single morpheme of [[Wago|native Japanese]] origin that does not already contain a voiced obstruent phoneme. However, even though rendaku is usual in this context, it does not invariably occur: there are numerous exceptions pronounced without rendaku. Some compound words are pronounced with rendaku by some speakers, but without it by other speakers.

Rendaku is blocked when a voiced obstruent phoneme is already present in the second element of the compound. This rule, called Lyman’s law, is highly reliable, with only a small number of exceptions.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=128}}

Rendaku is also blocked if the second element is a recent loanword from a language other than Chinese ([[gairaigo]]). This rule likewise has few exceptions.{{sfn|Labrune|2012|pp=115-116, 119}}

Rendaku does not affect most [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary|Sino-Japanese]] elements, but this tendency is less consistent. A substantial minority do undergo rendaku as the second element of a compound. It has been speculated that Sino-Japanese elements that can undergo rendaku might have become "vulgarized", that is, adopted into the same category of vocabulary as native Japanese morphemes.{{sfn|Labrune|2012|p=115}}{{sfn|Dexter|2018|loc=§Chinese origin words do not rendaku}}

Other rules have been proposed regarding circumstances where rendaku is either blocked or favored, but often, it is only possible to identify tendencies rather than inviolable rules.

===Lyman's law===

'''Lyman's Law''' is a fundamental constraint on rendaku that prohibits voicing when the second element of a compound already contains a voiced obstruent phoneme ({{IPA|/d/}}, {{IPA|/ɡ/}}, {{IPA|/z/}}, or {{IPA|/b/}}, including [[allophone]]s such as {{IPA|[dʑ]}} and {{IPA|[ŋ]}}). These phonemes are all written with the [[dakuten]] and called {{Nihongo|"muddy sounds"|[[w:ja:濁音|濁音]]|dakuon}} in Japanese. For example:
*{{lang|ja|yama}} + {{lang|ja|kado}} → {{lang|ja|Yamakado}} (surname) {{ruby-ja|山門|やまかど}} ("mountain" + "gate" → place name). Rendaku does not occur because {{lang|ja|kado}} already contains a voiced obstruent consonant phoneme {{IPA|/d/}}. Therefore, its initial consonant {{IPA|/k/}} remains voiceless, and the form *''Yamagado'' やまがど does not exist (* indicates a non-existent form).
*{{lang|ja|hitori}} + {{lang|ja|tabi}} → {{lang|ja|hitoritabi}} ("one person" + "travel" → "traveling alone"), not *{{lang|ja|hitoridabi}}. Rendaku does not occur because {{lang|ja|tabi}} already contains a voiced obstruent consonant phoneme {{IPA|/b/}}.
*{{lang|ja|yama}} + {{lang|ja|kaji}} → {{lang|ja|yamakaji}} ("mountain" + "fire" → "mountain fire"), not *{{lang|ja|yamagaji}}. Rendaku does not occur because {{lang|ja|kaji}} already contains a voiced obstruent consonant phoneme {{IPA|/z/}} (in the form of its allophone {{lang|ja|j}} {{IPA|[(d)ʑ]}}).

The precise formulation of Lyman's law varies between analysts. In particular, there are conflicting viewpoints on the size of the phonological domain in which it applies. One formulation states that ''rendaku'' is blocked by the presence of voiced obstruent consonant "within a morpheme"; this may be interpreted as a consequence of a more general constraint that applies also to the underived form of native Japanese morphemes, which do not generally contain more than one voiced obstruent phoneme.{{sfn|Rice|2002|page=2}} An alternative view is that Lyman's law applies whenever a voiced obstruent consonant occurs anywhere within the second element of a compound, and so might also include cases where this element is composed of more than one morpheme. Rendaku occasionally (although relatively infrequently) causes voicing of the initial consonant of a [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary|Sino-Japanese]] ({{nihongo|||kango}}) lexeme that is written with two kanji, and is in etymological terms composed of two Sino-Japanese roots;{{sfn|Irwin|2005|pp=127, 135}} it is debatable whether such lexemes count as one morpheme or two from a [[Diachrony and synchrony|synchronic]] perspective.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=140}} 

In modern Japanese, the presence of a voiced obstruent phoneme in the first element does not normally block rendaku, as demonstrated by examples such as {{Nihongo3|sleeve|そで|so'''d'''e}} + {{Nihongo3|mouth|くち|'''k'''uchi}} → {{Nihongo3|cuff|そでぐち|so'''d'''e'''g'''uchi}}.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=12, 14}} Nevertheless, it has been proposed that in certain circumstances, Lyman's law might be (or might once have been) sensitive to the presence of a voiced obstruent in the first element of a compound. Compound personal names ending in the element {{lang|ja|ta}} 'rice field' seem to usually show rendaku when the final mora of the first element contains {{IPA|/t k s m n/}} (e.g. {{lang|ja|Kata'''d'''a, Fuku'''d'''a, Asa'''d'''a, Hama'''d'''a, Sana'''d'''a}}), but never show rendaku when the final mora of the first element contains {{IPA|/d ɡ z b j/}} (e.g. {{lang|ja|Kado'''t'''a, Naga'''t'''a, Mizu'''t'''a, Kubo'''t'''a, Haya'''t'''a}}) (and usually do not show rendaku when it contains {{IPA|/r w/}}). The pattern of voicing seen in compounds like these may in part be a residue of an older version of the law that operated in Old Japanese.{{sfn|Kubozono|2005|pp=3-5}} Examination of Old Japanese compounds suggests that Old Japanese had a constraint against two consecutive syllables starting with a [[prenasalized]] consonant (the source of modern Japanese {{Nihongo|||dakuon}}/voiced obstruent phonemes), but over time, this constraint came to be replaced with the modern tendency for a {{Nihongo|||dakuon}} consonant to block rendaku only when it occurs in the second element of the compound.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=10-14}}

Some formulations of the law treat it as applicable only in cases where the {{Nihongo|||dakuon}}/voiced obstruent phoneme is the second consonant of the final element of the compound.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=127}} In the case of Old Japanese, there is not enough evidence to conclude whether the Old Japanese version of Lyman's law applied to morphemes containing a prenasalized consonant in their third or later syllable.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=11}} In modern Japanese, however, there is evidence that Lyman's law applies in general to morphemes of this form, as indicated by the lack of rendaku in examples such as {{Nihongo3|horn|つの|tsuno}} + {{Nihongo3|lizard|とかげ|'''t'''oka'''g'''e}} → {{Nihongo3|horned toad|つのとかげ|tsuno'''t'''oka'''g'''e}} or {{Nihongo3|child|こ|ko}} + {{Nihongo3|sheep|ひつじ|'''h'''itsu'''j'''i}} → {{Nihongo3|lamb|こひつじ|ko'''h'''itsu'''j'''i}}.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=147-148, 503}} There are only a handful of exceptions, such as  {{Nihongo3|rope|なわ|nawa}} + {{Nihongo3|ladder|はしご|'''h'''ashi'''g'''o}} → {{Nihongo3|rope ladder|なわばしご|nawa'''b'''ashi'''g'''o}}, where voicing occurs despite the presence of a {{Nihongo|||dakuon}}/voiced obstruent consonant in the second element of the compound.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=157}}{{sfn|Irwin|2005|pp=127-128}}

Although this law is named after [[Benjamin Smith Lyman]], who independently propounded it in 1894, it is really a re-discovery. The [[Edo period]] linguists [[Kamo no Mabuchi]]{{sfn|Itō|1928}}{{sfn|Suzuki|2004}} (1765) and [[Motoori Norinaga]]{{sfn|Endō|1981}}{{sfn|Yamaguchi|1988}} (1767–1798) separately and independently identified the law during the 18th century.

===Source language of the second element===

Another important factor affecting the likelihood of rendaku is the etymological source or [[Japanese_phonology#Lexical_strata|lexical stratum]] of the second element of the compound. Rendaku frequently affects [[wago]] (native Japanese lexemes), infrequently affects [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary|kango]] (Sino-Japanese vocabulary), and very rarely affects [[gairaigo]] (recent loanwords, such as borrowings from English). On the other hand, the lexical stratum of the first element of the compound is not relevant.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=131}}

One possible reason for the resistance of Sino-Japanese morphemes to rendaku is the greater potential for it to cause homophony in this context. Native Japanese morphemes very rarely start with a voiced obstruent consonant, but this does not apply to Sino-Japanese; therefore, rendaku of Sino-Japanese morphemes is more likely to neutralize a contrast between distinct morphemes.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=135}}{{sfn|Dexter|2018|loc=§Chinese origin words do not rendaku}}

====Kango====

Sino-Japanese vocabulary is built from Sino-Japanese roots, which have a restricted phonological structure (one or two moras long). At least half of Sino-Japanese terms are "binoms" consisting of two roots, but some roots can be used on their own as words (mononoms).{{sfn|Irwin|2005|pp=140-143}} A binom is written with two [[kanji]] (Chinese characters), one for each root.{{sfn|Vance|2015|p=419}}

Most Sino-Japanese lexemes do not undergo rendaku when used as the second element of a compound. However, a minority (around 20% of mononoms, and 10% of binoms) do show rendaku in at least some compounds.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=143}} No criteria have been identified that predict with 100% accuracy when this occurs.

In terms of phonology, rendaku is blocked by Lyman's law and so never affects a binom where the second root starts with a voiced obstruent phoneme; e.g. {{Nihongo3||構造|'''k'''ō'''z'''ō}} in {{Nihongo3|social structure|社会構造|shakai'''k'''ō'''z'''ō}}, {{Nihongo3||本山|'''h'''on'''z'''an}} in {{Nihongo3|head temple|総本山|sō'''h'''on'''z'''an}}.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=163-164}}{{efn|As a rule, voiced obstruent consonant phonemes do not occur in the second mora of a Sino-Japanese root.{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=163}} An exception to this rule, and also to Lyman's law, is the name element {{Nihongo3||三郎|Saburō}}, which can be voiced to {{lang|ja|-zaburō}} as the second or later element of names.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=158, 160, 163, 505}} Although {{IPA|/sabu/}} here originates from [[Middle Chinese]] {{lang|ltc|sam}} 'three', this is not a regular Sino-Japanese reading. Compare the regular [[On'yomi|''on'']] reading of {{lang|ja|三}} as {{lang|ja|san}}.{{sfn|Martin|1987|p=115}}}} Based on a study of how native speakers pronounced novel compounds, {{Harvnb|Low|2009}} concluded that rendaku is statistically less likely to affect a Sino-Japanese binom where the first root ends in the moraic nasal {{IPA|/N/}} and the second root end in a voiceless obstruent, although it is not fully blocked in this context (the study's observed rate of rendaku in this context was 1.3%, compared to Vance 1996's dictionary-based estimate of rendaku affecting 10% of all Sino-Japanese binoms).{{sfn|Low|2009|p=33}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Examples of rendaku in compounds ending in a Sino-Japanese mononom
! [[Kanji]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|火}} + {{lang|ja|鉢}} → {{lang|ja|火鉢}}{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=146}}
| {{lang|ja|hi}} + {{lang|ja|'''h'''achi}} → {{lang|ja|hi'''b'''achi}}
| "fire" + "bowl" → "brazier; [[hibachi]]"
|-
| {{lang|ja|寝}} + {{lang|ja|相}} → {{lang|ja|寝相}}{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=147}}
| {{lang|ja|ne}} + {{lang|ja|'''s'''ō}} → {{lang|ja|ne'''z'''ō}}
| "sleep" + "appearance" → "sleeping posture"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Examples of rendaku in compounds ending in a Sino-Japanese binom
! [[Kanji]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|親}} + {{lang|ja|会社}} → {{lang|ja|親会社}}
| {{lang|ja|oya}} + {{lang|ja|'''k'''aisha}} → {{lang|ja|oya'''g'''aisha}}
| "parent" + "company" → "parent company"
|-
| {{lang|ja|株式}} + {{lang|ja|会社}} → {{lang|ja|株式会社}}
| {{lang|ja|kabushiki}} + {{lang|ja|'''k'''aisha}} → {{lang|ja|[[Kabushiki gaisha|kabushiki'''g'''aisha]]}}
| "stock-type" + "company" → "joint-stock company"
|-
| {{lang|ja|客}} + {{lang|ja|布団}} → {{lang|ja|客布団}}
| {{lang|ja|kyaku}} + {{lang|ja|'''f'''uton}} → {{lang|ja|kyaku'''b'''uton}}
| "guest" + "bedding" → "bedding for guests"
|}

Sino-Japanese roots that start with voiceless obstruents may have variant pronunciations starting with voiced obstruent phonemes for other reasons aside from rendaku.

One reason is the existence of different readings of Sino-Japanese roots, corresponding in general to different time periods of borrowing. Two of the most important types of reading are termed Go-on and Kan-on.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=133}} Some (though not all) Kan-on readings starting with {{IPA|/h t s k/}} [[Sino-Japanese_vocabulary#Onsets_(initials)|correspond regularly]] to Go-on readings starting with {{IPA|/b d z ɡ/}}: these represent different adaptations of Early Middle Chinese voiced obstruent sounds,{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|p=282}} and so the existence of these alternative pronunciations is unrelated in origin to rendaku.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|pp=133-134}}

An example is the root {{lang|ja|地}} 'ground, land', which has both a Kan-on pronunciation {{lang|ja|chi}} {{IPA|[tɕi]}} and a Go-on pronunciation {{lang|ja|ji}} {{IPA|[(d)ʑi]}}. For this reason, the use of the voiced pronunciation in compounds such as {{Nihongo3|lane, alley|路地|ro'''j'''i}} cannot necessarily be attributed to rendaku, since the {{lang|ja|ji}} version of this root can also be found at the start of a word,{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=134}} e.g. in {{Nihongo3|earthquake|地震|jishin}}.

In addition, a minority of lexemes composed of two Sino-Japanese roots display a type of sequential voicing, affecting only roots in second position, that is indistinguishable in effect from rendaku, but probably has a distinct origin in terms of morphology. The relevant context is forms such as {{lang|ja|東国}} {{Nihongo3|eastern provinces||tō'''g'''oku}}, which appears to display rendaku on its second element {{lang|ja|国}} {{Nihongo3|country||'''k'''oku}}. In this case, voicing is hypothesized to be the result of the preceding Sino-Japanese root {{lang|ja|東}} originally ending in a nasal sound, which caused the following consonant to become prenasalized and voiced.{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=134}} Prenasalization and voicing of a consonant after a nasal sound ({{IPA|/ũ, ĩ, N/}}) is hypothesized to have been an active phonological rule up through [[Early Middle Japanese]]; in [[Late Middle Japanese]], {{IPA|/ũ, ĩ/}} were denasalized and voicing after {{IPA|/N/}} ceased to be automatic.{{sfn|Frellesvig|2010|pp=188-191, 199-200, 307-309}}

====Gairaigo====

''[[Gairaigo]]'' vocabulary is usually not affected by rendaku when it occurs as the second element of a compound, as illustrated by the contrast between {{lang|ja|garasu'''d'''ana}} 'glass shelf', from native Japanese {{lang|ja|'''t'''ana}} 'shelf', and {{lang|ja|garasu'''k'''ēsu}} 'glass case', from foreign {{lang|ja|kēsu}} 'case': rendaku does not occur and is not expected to occur in the latter compound word, since its non-initial element belongings to foreign vocabulary.{{sfn|Ito|Mester|2003|p=122}} (In contrast, as shown by {{lang|ja|garasudana}}, the use of a ''gairaigo'' word as the first element of a compound does not prevent rendaku of a following native element.) Examples where rendaku affects a ''gairaigo'' element of a compound are highly exceptional.{{efn|Some examples of rendaku in compounds ending in gairaigo elements include the following: {{lang|ja|ama'''g'''appa}} "raincoat", from {{lang|ja|ame}} "rain" + {{lang|ja|'''k'''appa}} "raincoat",{{sfn|Vance|2015|p=415}} from the Portuguese word {{lang|pt|capa}} ("cloak; cape"); {{lang|ja|iroha'''g'''aruta}}, from {{lang|ja|[[iroha]]}} + {{lang|ja|'''k'''aruta}}, from the Portuguese word {{lang|pt|carta}} ("card");{{sfn|Shibatani|1990|p=174}}
{{lang|ja|mizu'''g'''iseru}} "hooka", from {{lang|ja|mizu}} "water" + {{lang|ja|'''k'''iseru}} "pipe", from Khmer{{sfn|Irwin|2011|p=152}} ''khsiə'' ("pipe").}}

===Part of speech===

Rendaku affects compounds involving various parts of speech, such as Noun + Verb, Adjective + Noun, Verb + Noun, Verb + Adjective; however, it is rare in compounds of the form Verb + Verb.{{sfn|Labrune|2012|pp=113, 122-123}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Noun + na-adjective/noun → noun
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|おんな + '''す'''き → おんな'''ず'''き}}
| ''onna'' + '''''s'''uki'' → ''onna'''z'''uki'' 
| "female person" + "liking; fondness" → "fondness for women; woman lover"
|-
| {{lang|ja|おとこ + '''き'''らい → おとこ'''ぎ'''らい}}
| ''otoko'' + '''''k'''irai'' → ''otoko'''g'''irai''
| "male person" + "dislike; hatred" → "dislike for men; misandry"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Ending in i-adjective → i-adjective
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|うす- + '''き'''たない → うす'''ぎ'''たない}}
| ''usu-'' + '''''k'''itanai'' → ''usu'''g'''itanai''
| "faint-; light-" + "dirty" → "dirty"
|-
| {{lang|ja|くち + '''き'''たない → くち'''ぎ'''たない}}
| ''kuchi'' + '''''k'''itanai'' → ''kuchi'''g'''itanai''
| "mouth" + "dirty" → "foulmouthed; scurrilous"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Noun + verb → verb
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|め + '''ふ'''く → め'''ぶ'''く}}
| ''me'' + '''''f'''uku'' → ''me'''b'''uku''
| "sprout" + "to blow" → "to bud"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Verb (ren'yōkei) + noun → noun
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|いけ + はな → いけ'''ば'''な}}
| ''ike'' + ''hana'' → ''[[ikebana|ike'''b'''ana]]''
| "keep alive" + "flower" → "flower arrangement"
|-
| {{lang|ja|おり + かみ → おり'''が'''み}}
| ''ori'' + ''kami'' → ''[[origami|ori'''g'''ami]]''
| "fold" + "paper" → "paperfolding"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Verb (ren'yōkei) + verb → verb
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|たち + '''と'''まる → たち'''ど'''まる}}
| ''tachi'' + '''''t'''omaru'' → ''tachi'''d'''omaru''
| "standing; starting; igniting" + "to stop" → "to stop"
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|+ style="text-align: left;" | Verb (ren'yōkei) + verb (ren'yōkei) → noun
! [[Hiragana]]
! [[Hepburn romanization|Romanization]]
! Translation
|-
| {{lang|ja|おき + '''さ'''り → おき'''ざ'''り}}
| ''oki'' + '''''s'''ari'' → ''oki'''z'''ari'' 
| "putting" + "leaving" → "deserting"
|-
| {{lang|ja|くるい + '''さ'''き → くるい'''ざ'''き}}
| ''kurui'' + '''''s'''aki'' → ''kurui'''z'''aki'' 
| "being in disarray" + "blooming" → "unseasonable blooming"
|}

===Reduplication===
Rendaku is very frequent in words formed by [[reduplication]], other than [[Japanese sound symbolism|mimetic words]], which are immune to rendaku.{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=193-200}}

Examples:
: {{lang|ja|ひと + ひと → ひと'''び'''と (人々)}} ([[iteration mark|iteration]])
:: ''hito'' + ''hito'' → ''hito'''b'''ito'' ("person" + "person" → "people"){{sfn|Vance|2015|p=417}}
: {{lang|ja|とき + とき → とき'''ど'''き (時々)}} (iteration)
:: ''toki'' + ''toki'' → ''toki'''d'''oki'' ("time" + "time" → "sometimes"){{sfn|Vance|2015|p=417}}

===Semantics===
''Rendaku'' tends not to occur in non-reduplicative compounds which have the [[Semantics|semantic]] value of "X and Y" (so-called [[dvandva]] or copulative compounds), as exemplified by ''yama'' + ''kawa'' > ''yamakawa'' "mountains and rivers", as opposed to ''yama'' + ''kawa'' > ''yamagawa'' "mountain river".{{sfn|Irwin|2005|p=128}}{{sfn|Vance|1987|pp=144-145}}{{sfn|Low|2009|p=12}}

===Branching compounds===

In compounds containing more than two elements (or compounds where one element is itself a compound), the [[Branching (linguistics)|branching]] structure of the compound may affect the application of rendaku. For example, {{lang|ja|todana}}, a compound of the morphemes {{lang|ja|to}} "door" and {{lang|ja|tana}} "shelf", retains its initial voiceless {{IPA|/t/}} when used as the second element of the compound {{lang|ja|fukurotodana}} "small cupboard". In examples like this, where the second element contains a voiced consonant as a result of rendaku, the lack of voicing at the start of the second element of the larger compound can potentially be explained as a consequence of [[#Lyman's law|Lyman's law]].{{sfn|Vance|1987|pp=137-138}}

{{Harvnb|Otsu|1980}} proposed that rendaku is blocked in general in the left-branching elements of a [[right-branching]] compound, even in cases where Lyman's law does not apply. However, other linguists have questioned the validity or necessity of formulating such a constraint.{{sfn|Vance|1987|p=138}}{{sfn|Vance|2022|p=151}} The branching constraint is intended to explain the contrasting behavior of examples such as the following:
:''mon'' + [''shiro'' + ''chō''] > ''monshirochō'', not *''monjirochō'' ("[[Mon (emblem)|family crest]]" + ["white" + "butterfly"] > "[[cabbage butterfly]]")
but
:[''o'' + ''shiro''] + ''washi'' > ''ojirowashi'' (["tail" + "white"] + "eagle" > "[[white-tailed eagle]]")

This constraint does not apply to all words where the second element is composed of more than one morpheme. As discussed above, rendaku can affect Sino-Japanese "binoms" composed of two Sino-Japanese roots. Assuming the branching constraint is valid, it is possible it does not prevent rendaku in that context because Sino-Japanese binoms do not have the morphological status of compound words in the context of rendaku.{{sfn|Vance|1987|p=138}} In any case, there seem to be some counterexamples to the branching constraint, such as {{lang|ja|ōburoshiki}} 'big talk', from {{lang|ja|ō-}} 'big' + {{lang|ja|furoshiki}}, from {{lang|ja|furo}} ' bath' + {{lang|ja|shiki}} 'carpet', or {{lang|ja|machibikeshi}} 'fire brigade for common people', from {{lang|ja|machi}} 'town' + {{lang|ja|hikeshi}}, from {{lang|ja|hi}} 'fire' + {{lang|ja|keshi}} 'to extinguish'.{{sfn|Kubozono|2005|p=6}}  Other examples where rendaku appears to affect "multi-root" elements that are themselves composed of smaller elements (at least in terms of etymology) include the following:

*{{lang|ja|[[Izakaya|i'''z'''akaya]]}} ({{lang|ja|居酒屋}}) 'tavern', from {{lang|ja|i}} 'staying' + {{lang|ja|'''s'''akaya}} 'saké-shop', from {{lang|ja|saka-}} 'saké-' + {{lang|ja|-ya}} '-shop'{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=152}}
*{{lang|ja|hito'''z'''ukiai}} ({{lang|ja|人付き合い}}) 'socializing with people', from {{lang|ja|'''h'''ito}} 'person' + {{lang|ja|tsukiai}} ({{lang|ja|人付き合い}})'socializing', from {{lang|ja|tsuki}} 'attaching' + {{lang|ja|ai}} 'matching'{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=152}}
*{{lang|ja|ko'''z'''eriai}} ({{lang|ja|小競り合い}}) 'skirmish', from {{lang|ja|ko}} 'small' + {{lang|ja|'''s'''eriai}} 'competition', from {{lang|ja|seri}} 'vying' + {{lang|ja|ai}} 'matching'{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=152}}
*{{lang|ja|shita'''b'''irame}} ({{lang|ja|舌平目}}) 'sole (fish)', from {{lang|ja|shita}} 'tongue' + {{lang|ja|'''h'''irame}} 'flounder', from {{lang|ja|hira}} 'flat' + {{lang|ja|me}} 'eye'{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=152}}

Otsu accounted for apparent counterexamples to the branching rule by postulating a distinction between "loose" and "strict" compounds. Per Otsu, loose compounds are formed in a productive manner, have a predictable meaning based on their components, and follow the general accentuation rules for compound words. Loose compounds are hypothesized to be immune to rendaku when used as the right-hand element of a larger compound, whereas "strict" compounds can undergo rendaku the same way as single morphemes. However, Vance 2022 argues it is not clear that these criteria can really be applied reliably to predict whether a compound is "loose" or "strict" for the purposes of rendaku.{{sfn|Vance|2022|pp=151-157}}

The branching constraint analysis could be considered a violation of the Atom Condition, which states that "in lexical derivations from X, only features realized on X are accessible." An alternative view proposes that the process applies cyclically.
:[''nuri'' + ''hashi''] + ''ire'' > ''nuribashiire'' ([lacquered chopstick] case, "case for lacquered chopsticks") 
:''nuri'' + [''hashi'' + ''ire''] > ''nurihashiire'' (lacquered [chopstick case], "lacquered case for chopsticks") 
This could be seen as the voicing between hashi and ire staying unrealized but still activating Lyman's Law.{{sfn|Ito|Mester|1986}}

Ito and Mester 2003 proposed a third account distinct from both Otsu 1980's branching-based constraint and Ito and Mester 1986's cyclical account. This hypothesis holds that the relationship between branching and rendaku is not direct, but is mediated by [[prosodic]] structure: the lack of rendaku in right-branching compounds such as {{lang|ja|hatsu kao awase}} is analyzed as a consequence of {{lang|ja|kao}} coming at the start of a prosodic word.{{sfn|Ito|Mester|2003|pp=225-227}} Per Ito and Mester 2007, whether a compound is treated as one or as multiple prosodic words is affected by the length of the second element of the compound: if the second element is longer than four moras (or two bimoraic feet), then the compound is required to have the prosody of a phrase rather than a single word.{{sfn|Ito|Mester|2007|p=104}}

===Further considerations===
In some cases, ''rendaku'' varies depending on syntax. For instance, the suffix {{Nihongo||〜通り|tōri|extra="road, following"}}, from {{Nihongo||通る|tōru|extra="to go, to follow"}}, is pronounced as {{Nihongo||〜とおり|-tōri}} following the [[Japanese verb conjugation#Perfective|perfective verb]], as in {{Nihongo||思った通り |omotta-tōri|extra="as I thought"}}, but is pronounced as {{Nihongo||〜どおり|-dōri|extra=with ''rendaku''}} when following a noun, as in {{Nihongo||予定通り|yotei-dōri|extra="as planned, according to schedule"}} or, semantically differently – more concretely – {{Nihongo||室町通|Muromachi-dōri|extra="[[Muromachi Street]]"}}.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Most [[Japanese family name]]s are compounds, and rendaku may or may not affect the second element of a compound name. Some names are read in different ways for different people, and have both a reading with rendaku and one without, such as {{nihongo2|中田}} (which can be either {{nihongo|||[[Nakata]]}} or {{nihongo|||[[Nakada]]}}, among other readings).{{sfn|Tanaka|2017|pp=12-13, 119}}

====Lexical propensity====

It has been hypothesized that morphemes are inherently either more susceptible or more resistant to being voiced when used as the second element of a compound; in other words, that the propensity of a morpheme to undergo rendaku is lexically specified. Some morphemes show voicing in all compounds in which they occur. At the far end of the spectrum, a small percentage of morphemes appear to be immune to rendaku (for reasons not explained by the phonological, morphosyntactic, and lexical-stratum factors described above that regularly block rendaku). Other morphemes are intermediate and undergo voicing in some but not all compounds. {{Harvnb|Irwin|2016}} found that out of elements that occurred at least 5 times in second position in a database of frequent compound words, the most common behavior (42%) was to undergo voicing in all compounds, and each range of greater resistance to rendaku contained successively fewer elements (35% had voicing rates from 0.667 to 0.999; 12% had voicing rates from 0.334 to 0.666; 7% had voicing rates from 0.001 to 0.333, and 5% were never voiced).{{sfn|Irwin|2016|p=103}}

{{Harvnb|Rosen|2016}} suggests that the first element of compound words also has a lexically variable propensity to trigger rendaku, hypothesizing that rendaku occurs in words where the combination of these two voicing weights (the rendaku-triggering weight of the first element and the rendaku-undergoing weight of the second element) exceeds a threshold value, and fails to occur when this value falls below the threshold.{{sfn|Rosen|2016|p=6}}

====Word length====
In some circumstances, rendaku appears to be affected by the length of a compound word, as measured in [[Japanese_phonology#Moras|mora]]s. Certain second elements that have a length of one or two moras tend to resist rendaku when combined with a first element that is one or two moras long. (A compound where both elements are short can be called a "short-short compound"). For example, {{Nihongo3|grass||kusa}} occurs in a number of compounds without rendaku, such as {{Nihongo3|green grass||aokusa}} and {{Nihongo3|nettle||irakusa}}.{{sfn|Rosen|2003|pp=6-9}} However, these resistant elements undergo rendaku when combined with a first element that is more than two moras long, as in {{Nihongo3|cottonweed||hahakogusa}}.{{sfn|Rosen|2003|p=10}}

====Avoidance of bVmV====
Rendaku seems to be avoided in non-verbal elements that start with {{IPA|[h]}} or {{IPA|[ç]}} + vowel + {{IPA|/m/}} + vowel, such as {{lang|ja|hama, hamo, hima, hime, himo, hema}}, which has been explained as an effect of a preference against having [[homorganic]] consonants at the start of adjacent syllables: rendaku would replace {{IPA|[h]}} or {{IPA|[ç]}} with {{IPA|[b]}}, which is bilabial like {{IPA|[m]}}.{{sfn|Kawahara|Ono|Sudo|2006|p=34}}{{sfn|Kawahara|2015|p=7}} Rendaku is seen before vowel + {{IPA|/m/}} + vowel in {{lang|ja|koibumi}} 'love letter' from {{lang|ja|fumi}} 'letter': this is consistent with the hypothesis, since {{IPA|[ɸɯmi]}} contains {{IPA|[ɸ]}}, which is already homorganic with {{IPA|[m]}} (and so avoiding rendaku would not make any difference).{{sfn|Kawahara|Ono|Sudo|2006|p=37}} (An alternative explanation supposes that {{lang|ja|fumi}}, as well as other words that undergo rendaku to {{IPA|/b/}}, starts with an underlying labial consonant that is phonologically distinct from the {{IPA|/h/}} found at the start of lexemes that do not undergo rendaku.{{sfn|Hirayama|2005|pp=140-141}})

A study observed this tendency as an active factor affecting the frequency with which Japanese speakers preferred rendaku vs. non-rendaku variants of [[nonce word]]s.{{sfn|Kumagai|2020}}

For whatever reason, this avoidance is not seen in verb roots (including deverbal nouns), which undergo rendaku even in cases such as {{lang|ja|musibamu}} 'to corrupt'.{{sfn|Kawahara|Ono|Sudo|2006|p=34}}

No comparable effect is seen with other consonant sounds that undergo rendaku, since they retain the same place of articulation after the change.{{sfn|Kawahara|2015|p=10}}

== Productivity ==

Although rendaku does not occur in all compounds, it is common and studies of Japanese native speakers show that it occurs often in newly formed compounds. It has been suggested that its productivity in new compounds is caused by analogy with existing compound words.<ref>{{harvnb|Vance|2015|pp=435-436}}, citing {{harvnb|Ohno|2000|pp=161-162}}.</ref>

=== Acquisition by children ===

Some studies have examined the [[phonological development]] of rendaku. Studies from the late 1990s and early 2000s indicate that children under five and a half years old show limited use of rendaku in any context. The use of rendaku in established compounds becomes frequent by the age of six, but children below this age do not show reliable use of rendaku in unfamiliar compounds. Children over the age of six use rendaku frequently both in familiar and unfamiliar compounds.<ref>{{harvnb|Ota|2015|pp=703-705}}, citing {{harvnb|Fukuda|2002}} and {{harvnb|Fukuda|Fukuda|1999}}.</ref>

== Theoretical analysis ==

In linguistics, rendaku has been analyzed in terms of various [[phonology|phonological]] theories. It has been popular to identify [[#Lyman's law|Lyman's Law]], the restriction against applying rendaku to a morpheme that already contains a voiced obstruent phoneme, as an example of a more general theoretical concept known as the [[obligatory contour principle]] (or "OCP" for short). This principle was originally formulated (by Leben 1973) to refer to the phonology of tone, and referred to a hypothesized constraint against having consecutive identical tones in the underlying representation of a morpheme. Later phonologists have interpreted the principle as a more general constraint, using it to refer also to bans on identical adjacent specifications of various non-tone features. Thus, Lyman's Law has been interpreted as an example where the obligatory contour principle (OCP) applies to voicing specifications and rules out multiple occurrences of voicing within a morpheme.{{sfn|Vance|2015|p=406}}

== Rendaku in Tohoku dialects ==

In the Kahoku [[Tōhoku dialect|dialect of Tōhoku]], the phonemes {{IPA|/t k ts tɕ/}} have voiced allophones {{IPA|[d ɡ dz dʑ]}} when they come between voiced vowels, and the phonemes {{IPA|/b d ɡ z dʑ/}} have prenasalized or nasal allophones {{IPA|[ᵐb ⁿd ᵑɡ~ŋ ⁿdz ⁿdʑ]}} when they come between vowels: for example, {{IPA|/mato/}} 'target' is pronounced {{IPA|[mɑdo]}} (with a second consonant that is voiced but not prenasalized) whereas {{IPA|/mado/}} 'window' is pronounced {{IPA|[mɑ̃ⁿdo]}} (with both voicing and prenasalization of the second consonant).{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|pp=174-176, 178}} Thus, rendaku in this dialect, when it occurs, typically involves phonetic prenasalization of the second element of the compound, as is speculated to have been the case in prehistoric Japanese: e.g. {{IPA|/hama/}} 'beach" + {{IPA|/kuri/}} 'chestnut' → {{IPA|/hamaɡuri/}} {{IPA|[hɑmɑ̃ᵑɡɯɾɨ]}} 'clam'.{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|p=178-179}} However, the use of prenasalization at the start of the second element of a compound word is not uniform, and depending on the speakers and the words pronounced, significant variations were observed.{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|p=192}} There was a relationship between the rate of prenasalization and the speakers’ age: older individuals use prenasalized pronunciations at a higher rate than younger individuals. On the other hand, differences in the speakers’ gender and socioeconomic status did not affect the rate of prenasalization.{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|p=192}} It is speculated that dialect mixing with standard Japanese may have increased the use of pronunciations without prenasalization.{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|pp=188-193}} In the case of {{IPA|/b/}} {{IPA|[ᵐb]}}, loss of prenasalization may also have additionally been facilitated by the fact that the resulting sound {{IPA|[b]}} did not merge with any preexisting phoneme, since {{IPA|/p/}} does not occur intervocalically in non-mimetic vocabulary (in contrast, in forms like [te̝ɡɑmɨ], the absence of prenasalization makes it possible to interpret the consonant {{IPA|[ɡ]}} as merely the voiced intervocalic allophone of {{IPA|/k/}}, which would result in the phonemic transcription {{IPA|/tekami/}}, with the same consonant phoneme as the independent word {{IPA|/kami/}}).{{sfn|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|pp=190-191}}

A Tōhoku dialect spoken in [[Iwate Prefecture]] has been reported to have a phonotactic constraint prohibiting prenasalized obstruents from occurring in two successive syllables; this rule produces regular denasalization in {{IPA|[kɑ̃ᵐbɑbɨ]}} 'ceremonial fire' as opposed to {{IPA|[hɑnɑ̃ᵐbi]}} 'fireworks'.<ref>{{harvnb|Miyashita|Irwin|Wilson|Vance|2016|p=189}}, citing {{harvnb|Uwano|2015}}.</ref>

==See also==
*[[Consonant mutation]]
*[[Lenition]]
*[[Sandhi]]

==Notes==
{{notelist-la}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
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  | doi=10.1353/cjl.2004.0010
  }}
* {{citation
  | last=Rosen
  | first=Eric
  | title=Predicting the unpredictable: Capturing the apparent semi-regularity of rendaku voicing in Japanese through harmonic grammar
  | year=2016
  | url=http://roa.rutgers.edu/content/article/files/1559_rosen_1.pdf
  | journal=Proceedings of the Berkeley Linguistics Society
  | volume=42
  | pages=235–249
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Shibatani
  | first = Masayoshi
  | title = The Languages of Japan
  | date = 1990
  | publisher = Cambridge University Press
  | location = Cambridge; New York
  | pages = 173–175
  | isbn = 0-521-36918-5
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* {{cite journal
  | last = Suzuki
  | first = Yutaka
  | title = 'Rendaku' no Koshō ga Kakuritsu suru made: Rendaku Kenkyū Zenshi
  | date = 2004
  | script-title=ja:「連濁」の呼称が確立するまで―連濁研究前史―
  | journal=Kokubungaku kenkyū
  | script-journal=ja:国文学研究
  | volume=142
  }} Japanese citation: {{lang|ja|鈴木豊(2004)「「連濁」の呼称が確立するまで―連濁研究前史―」(『国文学研究』142)}}

*{{cite thesis 
  | last = Tanaka
  | first = Yu
  | date = 2017
  | title = The sound pattern of Japanese surnames
  | url = https://escholarship.org/content/qt2x8341db/qt2x8341db_noSplash_dbc31a4a5bdf58970081e6d07e2bc918.pdf
  | publisher= [[University of California, Los Angeles]]
  | degree = Linguistics PhD
  }}

* {{citation
  | last = Uwano
  | first = Zendō
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  | title = Bidakuon 2-dai 
  | journal = NINJAL Colloquium Series
  | location = Tokyo
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* {{citation
  | last = Vance
  | first = Timothy J.
  | title= On the Origin of Voicing Alteration in Japanese Consonants
  | journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society
  | volume = 102
  | issue = 2
  | year = 1982
  | pages = 333–341
  | doi = 10.2307/602532
  | jstor = 602532
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Vance
  | first = Timothy J.
  | title = An Introduction to Japanese Phonology
  | date = 1987
  | publisher = State University of New York Press
  | location = Albany, N.Y.
  | isbn = 0-88706-361-6
  }}
* {{citation
  |last=Vance
  |first=Timothy J.
  |year=2008
  |title=The Sounds of Japanese
  |publisher=Cambridge University Press
  |isbn=978-0-5216-1754-3
  }}
* {{citation
  | last=Vance
  | first=Timothy J.
  | year=2015
  | chapter=Rendaku
  | editor-last=Kubozono
  | editor-first=Haruo
  | title=Handbook of Japanese Phonetics and Phonology
  | location=Berlin
  | publisher=De Gruyter
  | pages=397–442
  | doi=10.1515/9781614511984.397
  | isbn=978-1-61451-252-3
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Vance
  | first = Timothy J.
  | title = Irregular Phonological Marking of Japanese Compounds
  | date = 2022
  | publisher = De Gruyter
  }}
* {{cite book
  | last = Weijer
  | first = Jeroen van de
  | author-link = Jeroen van de Weijer
  |editor=Kensuke Nanjo |editor2=Tetsuo Nishihara
  | title = Voicing in Japanese
  | date = 2005
  | publisher = Mouton de Gruyter
  | location = Berlin, New York
  | isbn = 978-3-11-018600-0
  }}
* {{cite journal
  | last = Yamaguchi
  | first = Yoshinori
  | title = Kodaigo no Fukugō ni Kansuru Ichi-kōsatsu: Rendaku o Megutte
  | script-title=ja:古代語の複合語に関する一考察―連濁をめぐって―
  | date = 1988
  | journal=Nihongo-gaku
  | script-journal=ja:日本語学
  | trans-journal=Japanese Linguistics
  | volume=7-5
  }} (Japanese citation: {{lang|ja|山口佳紀(1988)「古代語の複合語に関する一考察―連濁をめぐって―」(『日本語学』7-5)}})

==Further reading==
* {{cite web|title=Exceptions to Lyman's Law|author=Suzuki Yutaka|url=http://cicero.u-bunkyo.ac.jp/lib/kiyo/fsell2004/249-266.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110813145815/http://cicero.u-bunkyo.ac.jp/lib/kiyo/fsell2004/249-266.pdf|archive-date=2011-08-13}}  
* {{cite book|editor1-last=Vance|editor1-first=Timothy J.|editor2-last=Irwin|editor2-first=Mark|year=2016|title=Sequential Voicing in Japanese: Papers from the NINJAL Rendaku Project|volume=176|publisher=John Benjamins|doi=10.1075/slcs.176|isbn=978-90-272-5941-7|series=Studies in Language Companion Series|s2cid=64058981}}

==External links==
{{wiktionary|Category:Japanese terms with rendaku}}
{{wiktionary category 2|Japanese terms with rendaku}}
* [http://pj.ninjal.ac.jp/rendaku/en/ The Japanese Lexicon: A Rendaku Encyclopedia] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160825080407/http://pj.ninjal.ac.jp/rendaku/en/ |date=2016-08-25 }} – [[National Institute for Japanese Language and Linguistics]]

{{Japanese language}}

[[Category:Japanese phonology]]
[[Category:Japanese writing system terms]]