Classical Japanese

The , also called and sometimes simply called "Medieval Japanese", is the literary form of the Japanese language that was the standard until the Shōwa period (1926–1989). It is based on Early Middle Japanese, the language as spoken during the Heian period (794–1185), but exhibits some later influences. Its use started to decline during the late Meiji period (1868–1912) when novelists started writing their works in the spoken form. Eventually, the spoken style came into widespread use, including in major newspapers, but many official documents were still written in the old style. After the end of World War II, most documents switched to the spoken style, although the classical style continues to be used in traditional genres, such as haiku and waka. Old laws are also left in the classical style unless fully revised.

The terms and are still used for classical and modern Japanese, respectively. Their literal meanings are only historical, as classical Japanese is no longer officially used, while modern Japanese is the only official written language, despite being labeled "spoken". These terms are often used in descriptions of grammar to distinguish classical and modern inflections. For example, the inflection of the verb Template:Nihongo krt is quadrigrade (, , , ), but its inflection is pentagrade due to a historical sound change (, ← ← , , , ).

History

Classical Japanese began to be written during the Heian period, at which point it was very similar to the spoken Japanese of that time. It became the written standard for the Japanese language for many centuries, though the spoken language continued to evolve and by the Edo period was substantially different from classical Japanese. This is known as diglossia, a situation in which two forms of a language, in this case a written and spoken form, coexist. During the Meiji period, some intellectuals sought the abolition of classical Japanese, such as the movement, which proposed that written Japanese conform to the vernacular spoken language. Futabatei Shimei's 1887 novel The Drifting Cloud was one of the first novels to be written in vernacular Japanese rather than classical. By 1908, novels no longer used classical Japanese, and by the 1920s the same was true of all newspapers. Government documents remained in classical Japanese until 1946. Classical Japanese continues to be taught in Japanese high schools and universities due to its importance in the study of traditional Japanese literature and culture.

Orthography

Classical Japanese is written in an orthography that differs from modern Japanese in two major ways. These are the usage of old character forms (Template:Category handler, kyūjitai) and historical kana usage (Template:Category handler, rekishi-teki kana-zukai).

Old character forms are the forms of Chinese characters (Template:Category handler, kanji) used in Japan before the spelling reforms that occurred after World War II. The modern, simplified characters are called .

A few examples follow, with the old characters on the left and the new characters on the right:

1. Template:Category handler
2. Template:Category handler
3. Template:Category handler
4. Template:Category handler
5. Template:Category handler
6. Template:Category handler
7. Template:Category handler
8. Template:Category handler

The kana spelling of a kanji is not unique; e.g. in modern Japanese, note the difference in the reading of Template:Category handler between Template:Category handler (Template:Category handler, "physical body") and Template:Category handler (Template:Category handler, "forms of government"). The above spelling differences are etymological. For example, Template:Category handler is just a native Japanese word labeled by a Chinese character with similar meaning, while Template:Category handler is totally a new word derived from the combination of original meanings of two Chinese characters ( means "politics" and means "body").

In cases like those of the first two, the entire original character has essentially been replaced by a new one, independent of the original's etymology. This type, however, is relatively rare. Another approach is to essentially replace the character with a piece of it, sometimes slightly altered, as in the third and fourth characters. Finally, probably the most common type of simplification is to change one component of the character to reduce the number of strokes and/or make it easier to write, a strategy exemplified by the fifth and sixth examples. Note that, as in the case of the sixth character, the simplification may be very subtle.

In general, old character forms are identical to their traditional Chinese counterparts, but there are some exceptions. For the seventh example character (Template:Category handler), the traditional and simplified Japanese versions coexisted as different forms of the same traditional character in Modern Chinese, while in Japan, what is now the new character form was at that time considered a variant and rarely used. And in a few cases, like that of the eighth character (Template:Category handler), the old character form has always been considered a rare variant in Modern Chinese. (However, and are actually the formal forms in Middle Chinese and Old Chinese.)

Historical kana usage is the system of kana (i.e., phonetic character) writing used in Japan before the post-war reforms. More specifically, it is the version of kana orthography standardized in the Meiji Period (since before that time kana usage was not standardized). It is, broadly speaking, based on the pronunciation of Japanese in the Heian Period, the time-frame in which Early Middle Japanese (on which the grammar of classical Japanese is based) was spoken. There are several differences between historical kana usage—which is also referred to as —and the modern kana orthography, called or . Some of these differences apply primarily to Sino-Japanese readings of Chinese characters, while others apply primarily to native Japanese words, and still others apply equally to both groups of words.

Broadly speaking, the differences are:

rule

• Some morpheme-medial sounds currently written as Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler (wa, i, u, e, and o) were written as Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler (ha, hi, fu, he, and ho), respectively. This is because these sounds (as well as all sounds still written with Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler) originally had initial consonant in Old Japanese, which then changed to in Early Middle Japanese, and then, in Late Middle Japanese, split into one of five different phonemes depending on whether it occurred morpheme-initially or morpheme-medially, and then further depending on the following vowel. Morpheme-initially and before , , or , it became ; before , it became ; and before , it became ; these three sounds are still written with Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler. Morpheme-medially and before , , , or , it became ; before , it lost its consonant. Finally, later on in the same period of the language the initial was lost in all instances before , , and (note that never existed), leaving the current morpheme-medial pronunciations of , , , , and , but the spellings of , , , , and (which, in this context, are probably better thought of as , , , , and ; or , , , , and ). This rule primarily applies to native Japanese morphemes, although it is crucial to the mechanics of the long vowel rule that applies primarily to Sino-Japanese words, which is elaborated upon below. The modern usage of Template:Category handler (ha) and Template:Category handler (he) to represent grammatical particles pronounced as if written Template:Category handler (wa) and Template:Category handler (e), respectively, is a holdover from this rule.

Some examples follow (old spellings are on the left, new spellings on the right; kana in parentheses represent the pronunciation of the preceding character): Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear Template:Fs interlinear

There are some exceptions to this sound change, although they are rare. They include Template:Category handler (haha "mother", expected form Template:Category handler hawa), Template:Category handler (hoho "cheek", expected form Template:Category handler hō), Template:Category handler (ahiru "domestic duck", expected form Template:Category handler airu), and Template:Category handler (afure-ru "overflow", expected form Template:Category handler aore-ru or Template:Category handler ōre-ru. Sometimes, as in the case of the first two exceptions, the sound change form exists, usually with a slightly different meaning (Template:Category handler hawa is a hyper-formal and very respectful term for mother) or is used in different contexts (Template:Category handler hō is generally used in isolation, while Template:Category handler hoho is generally used in compounds). In other cases, as is true of the second two exceptions, the unchanged form is the only one that exists. In addition to these exceptions, some dialects may preserve these sounds as they were at any stage of the language.

rule

This section uses Nihon-shiki romanization for Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler.

• The obsolete characters Template:Category handler (wi) and Template:Category handler (we) are used, and the character Template:Category handler (wo) is used in other words besides as the accusative or oblique case marker. This relates to the above rule, in that it reflects a pronunciation with initial before , , and that is no longer present in the modern language. This rule applies equally to native and Sino-Japanese words. The use of Template:Category handler (wo) to write the aforementioned grammatical particle, which is pronounced Template:Category handler (o) in modern Japanese (unless preceded by Template:Category handler n or sometimes in song, although all morpheme-medial instances of , whether originally Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, or Template:Category handler, tend to become in song), is a holdover from this rule.

Some examples:

Native Japanese words

• Template:Category handler → いる (only in kana) (wi-ru → i-ru "to be [animate objects]")
• Template:Category handler (kowe → koe "voice") (notice that an old character is also involved in this example)
• Template:Category handler (wotoko → otoko "male")

Sino-Japanese words

• Template:Category handler (yakuwin → yakuin "officer")
• Template:Category handler (wen → en "Yen") (again, there is an old character used here)
• Template:Category handler (kawoku → kaoku "house")

There are no known exceptions (besides the aforementioned ones regarding Template:Category handler wo) in standard Japanese, and no dialects preserve the distinction between and , and , and/or and , but some of the Ryukyuan languages (which are also descended from Proto-Japonic) do.

rule

This section uses Nihon-shiki romanization for Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler.

• The characters Template:Category handler (di) and Template:Category handler (du) are used in places other than changes caused by sequential voicing (Template:Category handler Rendaku), where in modern kana Template:Category handler (ji) and Template:Category handler (zu), respectively, would be used. Again, this represents a former phonetic distinction, namely between a sound (in Template:Category handler ji and Template:Category handler zu) and a sound (in Template:Category handler di and Template:Category handler du). This rule applies equally to native and Sino-Japanese words, as well as a few loanwords (Template:Category handler Gairaigo).

Some examples:

Native words

• Template:Category handler (adisawi → azisai "hydrangea") (notice that this example also contains a change from Template:Category handler wi to Template:Category handler i)
• Template:Category handler (midu → mizu "water")

Sino-Japanese words

• Template:Category handler (kaidiyo → kaizyo "release") (notice the use of Y-row rule, explained below)
• Template:Category handler (chidu → chizu "map") (notice again that an old character form is involved)

Loanwords

• Template:Category handler (radio → razio "radio") (this one is especially notable because it is an exceedingly rare example of a sound change that occurs in a loanword from English)

There are no known exceptions in standard Japanese pronunciation, although there are many dialects (such as the Tosa dialect) that preserve the distinction between historical and in speech, usually by using and for historical and and for historical (see Yotsugana). In writing, the distinction is preserved in single morphemes in cases where a sequence Template:Category handler (chidi) or Template:Category handler (tsudu) was historically produced by rendaku (such as in Template:Category handler chidim-u, "shorten", and Template:Category handler tsuduk-u, "continue", pronounced as if Template:Category handler chizim-u and Template:Category handler tsuzuk-u, respectively), or in compounds where a phonemic or has been voiced to or (such as in Template:Category handler mi-dika "one's surroundings" and Template:Category handler kana-dukai "kana usage", pronounced as if Template:Category handler mi-zika and Template:Category handler kana-zukai, respectively). This usage is a holdover from this rule.

rule

In modern Japanese, the small kana Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler (ya, yu, and yo) are used to indicate palatalized consonants (Template:Category handler Yōon) when following an I-column (Template:Category handler I-dan) kana of the K-, G-, N-, B-, P-, M-, or R-rows (Template:Category handler; Ka-, Ga-, Na-, Ba-, Pa-, Ma-, Ra-gyō). For example:

• Template:Category handler (kyaku "guest")
• Template:Category handler (nyojitsu "reality")
• Template:Category handler (byakudan "sandalwood")
• Template:Category handler (pyokopyoko "up and down")
• Template:Category handler (sanmyaku "mountain range")
• Template:Category handler (ryaku "abbreviation")

When a small Y-row (Template:Category handler Ya-gyō) kana follows an I-column kana of the S-, Z-, T-, D-, or H-rows (Template:Category handler; Sa-, Za-, Ta-, Da-, Ha-gyō), the preceding consonant is changed:

• Template:Category handler (shoku "meal")
• Template:Category handler (juritsu "establish")
• Template:Category handler (cha "tea")
• Template:Category handler (-jū "throughout [suffix]") (note that, as noted above, Template:Category handler ja, Template:Category handler ju, and Template:Category handler jo only occur in modern Japanese writing when a sequence Template:Category handler cha, Template:Category handler chu, or Template:Category handler cho is sequentially voiced, as in this example, and the pronunciation is identical to Template:Category handler ja, Template:Category handler ju, and Template:Category handler jo)
• Template:Category handler (hyaku "hundred") (note that the sequence is pronounced as noted above, but this difference is not reflected in any mainstream Japanese romanization system)

These three kana cannot follow A-row (Template:Category handler A-gyō) or W-row (Template:Category handler Wa-gyō) kana in this way.

In historical kana, all of these examples are written with large kana Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler (ya, yu, and yo). So the previous examples would be written:

• Template:Category handler (written kiyaku, but pronounced kyaku)
• Template:Category handler (written niyojitsu, but pronounced nyojitsu) (note the presence of an old character form here)
• Template:Category handler (written biyaku, but pronounced byaku)
• Template:Category handler (written piyokopiyoko, but pronounced pyokopyoko) (again, multiple iteration marks are used here)
• Template:Category handler (written sanmiyaku, but pronounced sanmyaku)
• Template:Category handler (written riyaku, but pronounced ryaku)
• Template:Category handler (written shiyoku, but pronounced shoku)
• Template:Category handler (written jiyuritsu, but pronounced juritsu)
• Template:Category handler (written chiya, but pronounced cha)
• Template:Category handler (written -jiyū, but pronounced -jū)
• Template:Category handler (written hiyaku, but pronounced hyaku)

This is the only historical kana rule that does not reflect a historical pronunciation. It is also one of only two rules (along with the geminate rule) that create ambiguity for the reader (excluding the exceptions listed above for the H-row rule). For instance, the aforementioned word Template:Category handler (kyaku) is not differentiated in historical kana from the word Template:Category handler (kiyaku "agreement") when written in historical kana: both are written Template:Category handler (kiyaku).

Geminate (Template:Category handler, sokuon) rule

The other use of small kana in modern Japanese is in the geminate consonant mark (Template:Category handler Sokuon), Template:Category handler, which is a small version of Template:Category handler (tsu). In native Japanese words, this symbol can be used before kana of the K-, S-, T-, and P-rows. For example,

• Template:Category handler (kakka "burning hotly")
• Template:Category handler (massugu "straight")
• Template:Category handler (kitto "surely")
• Template:Category handler (happa "leaf")

Voiced geminates are generally prohibited by Japanese phonological rules, but they occur in a few loanwords (although they are sometimes pronounced by native speakers as if they were their voiceless counterparts). For example:

• Template:Category handler (suraggā "slugger")
• Template:Category handler (kiddo "kid")

Kana of the N- and M-rows can also be geminate, but they are preceded by Template:Category handler (n) to indicate gemination instead.

Gemination can occur in Japanese for a variety of reasons. In native words, it occurs either when a historical long vowel elides, as in the aforementioned Template:Category handler (massugu, originally Template:Category handler maasugu), or randomly, as in the aforementioned Template:Category handler (kitto, originally Template:Category handler kito). These examples of the geminate consonant marker, along with those found in loanwords, are written with large Template:Category handler (tsu) in historical kana. Therefore,

• Template:Category handler (written katsuka, but pronounced kakka)
• Template:Category handler (written matsusugu, but pronounced massugu)
• Template:Category handler (written kitsuto, but pronounced kitto)
• Template:Category handler (written hatsupa, but pronounced happa)
• Template:Category handler (written suratsugā, but pronounced suraggā)
• Template:Category handler (written kitsudo, but pronounced kiddo)

In these cases, the historical usage is not reflecting any historical pronunciation. However, in Sino-Japanese words, geminate consonants are produced by different, more regular processes, and the historical usage for these words reflects historical pronunciations.

The most common way for geminates to be produced in Sino-Japanese words is by the elision of a vowel from the kana Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, or Template:Category handler (ki, ku, chi, or tsu). For example:

• Template:Category handler (tekkaku "eligible", from teki + kaku)
• Template:Category handler (gakki "semester", from gaku + ki)
• Template:Category handler (nittei "schedule", from nichi + tei)
• Template:Category handler (zasshi "magazine", from zatsu + shi)

In historical kana, where the geminate mark is used in the first, second, and fourth examples, a full-sized version of the original kana is used. However, in the third example, Template:Category handler (tsu) is used, even though an has been elided. The reason for this is that in Early Middle Japanese, when these sounds were borrowed from Middle Chinese, the Japanese language acquired a final in the Sino-Japanese morphemes that currently end in Template:Category handler (chi, ) or Template:Category handler (tsu, ). Later on, these acquired two forms, one with and one with (although in syllables beginning with , one form usually begins with , as is the case with Template:Category handler). So the semantic difference between Sino-Japanese syllables ending in or is almost always trivial, and the historical pronunciation was identical, so they were not distinguished in writing. Therefore, the previous examples would be written:

• Template:Category handler (tekikaku)
• Template:Category handler (gakuki) (note the old character form)
• Template:Category handler (nitsutei)
• Template:Category handler (zatsusi) (note the old character form)

Occasionally, gemination may also result from a loss of a vowel after Template:Category handler (fu, originally ). These cases are complicated by the H-row rule, and perhaps because of that, are also written with Template:Category handler in historical kana. For example,

• Template:Category handler (hosshi "Buddhist priest", from hofu + shi)

is written

• Template:Category handler (hotsushi)

in historical kana.

While this usage does reflect a historical pronunciation, it, like the Y-row rule, produces ambiguity. Furthermore, since these vowels are elided in some compounds but not others, this usage obscures the difference in a way that is essentially impossible to predict.

While there are a few other processes that can cause geminates in Sino-Japanese words, they all apply to N- and M-row kana, and are not written differently in historical and modern kana.

Labialized consonant (Template:Category handler, gōyōon) rule

Starting in Early Middle Japanese, as more and more Chinese characters were borrowed into Japanese, the language acquired consonants fronted with glides. Those fronted with the palatal glide are described in the Y-row rule, but Early Middle Japanese also introduced consonants fronted with labial glides (i.e., CwV). These were far more limited in range than their palatal counterparts, however, affecting only the K- and G- rows. instead of , , and for the vowels of onset, like the palatal glides, the vowels of onset for the labial glides were , , and , and used the kana Template:Category handler, Template:Category handler, and Template:Category handler (wa, wi, and we). Finally, while the palatal glides are written with an I-column kana, the labial glides are written with a U-column (Template:Category handler U-dan) kana. However, when historical kana was standardized in the Meiji Period, only the syllables with historical were indicated. Nevertheless, some classical texts may indicate the other differences, and some resources will refer to them, so it is useful to be familiar with them. This rule applies exclusively to Sino-Japanese words. Some examples:

Template:Category handler (written kuwa, but pronounced kwa) and Template:Category handler (written guwa, but pronounced gwa) (indicated in standard historical kana)

• Template:Category handler (kwashi → kashi "sweets")
• Template:Category handler (gwantan → gantan "New Year's Day")

Template:Category handler (written kuwi, but pronounced kwi), Template:Category handler (written guwi, but pronounced gwi), Template:Category handler (written kuwe, but pronounced kwe), and Template:Category handler (written guwe but pronounced gwe) (not indicated in standard historical kana)

• Template:Category handler (kwisei → kisei "homecoming") (note the old character form)
• Template:Category handler (gwizen → gizen "hypocrisy") (note the old character form)
• Template:Category handler (bankwen → banken "watchdog")
• Template:Category handler (dougwetsu → dougetsu "same month")

Labialized consonants sometimes occur in modern loanwords, and they are generally dealt with in one of two ways. Firstly, the labialized consonant may be changed from a sequence to a sequence , both in writing and in speech. For example,

• Template:Category handler (kuikku "quick", from English "quick" with original )

In other cases, they may be indicated with a U-column kana followed by a small A-row kana, indicating a labialized consonant. For example,

• Template:Category handler (kwīn "queen", from English "queen" with original )

However, in these cases, an alternative version with large A-row kana generally exists (as it does in this case), indicating a monophthong pronunciation, and many speakers use the monophthong pronunciation regardless of how it is written.

There are no known exceptions to this rule, but some dialects (such as the Kagoshima dialect) preserve the distinction.

Classical auxiliary verb Template:Category handler (mu) rule

Modern Japanese has the moraic nasal Template:Category handler (n), which can represent a variety of sounds depending on what sounds come before and after it. Syllable final nasals are believed by many scholars to have existed in Proto-Japonic, but all agree that they were lost by the time of Old Japanese. They first re-appeared in Early Middle Japanese, with the introduction of Middle Chinese loanwords ending in -n and -m. Therefore, the majority of occurrences of Template:Category handler (n) in modern Japanese occur in Sino-Japanese vocabulary. Originally, syllabic n and m were phonemically and phonologically distinct, although the distinction was never written down, and was lost by Early Modern Japanese. For example,

• Template:Category handler (kanzi, from Middle Chinese )
• Template:Category handler (ongaku, from Middle Chinese ; originally pronounced omgaku) (note the old character form)

However, some native Japanese words also have Template:Category handler (n). This happens exceedingly rarely, and usually results from sound elision. An exhaustive list of every example out of all regular-use characters with the syllabic nasal in their native Japanese readings numbers only 13 characters (0.61% of the regular-use set) giving rise to 14 readings. They are

From the elision of a vowel following /m/ or /n/

• Template:Category handler (nan "what"), from Template:Category handler (nani "what")
• Template:Category handler (wonna "woman"), originally pronounced womna; from Template:Category handler (womina "woman") (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler onna and Template:Category handler omina)
• Template:Category handler (nengoro "courteous"), originally pronounced nemkoro; from Template:Category handler (nemokoro "courteous")
• Template:Category handler (kan "god" in some compounds), originally pronounced kam; from Template:Category handler (kami "god") (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler, using a new character form)
• Template:Category handler (kangaf-u "consider"), from Template:Category handler (kamugaf-u "consider"); note that these are the classical versions of the modern verbs Template:Category handler (kangahe-ru) and Template:Category handler (kaugahe-ru), respectively (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler kangau, Template:Category handler kōga-u, Template:Category handler kangae-ru, and Template:Category handler kōgae-ru, respectively)

From the elision of a full mora

• Template:Category handler (kanmuri "crown"), from Template:Category handler (kauburi "rank"); note also the sound change from to (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler kauburi is Template:Category handler kōburi)
• Template:Category handler (ton "wholesale" in the compound Template:Category handler ton'ya "wholesale store"), from Template:Category handler (tohi "query") (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler tohi is Template:Category handler toi)
• Template:Category handler (sakan "prosperous"), from Template:Category handler (sakari "one's best days")
• Template:Category handler (kanba-shi "fragrant"), from Template:Category handler (kaguha-si "fragrant"); note also the sequential voicing of to , and that these are the classical forms of the adjectives Template:Category handler (kanba-shii) and Template:Category handler (kaguha-shii) (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler kaguha-shi is Template:Category handler kaguwa-shi and Template:Category handler kaguha-shii is Template:Category handler kaguwa-shii)

From the preservation of an Old Japanese pre-nasalized consonant in a modern Japanese word

• Template:Category handler (kangami-ru "learn from"), from Template:Category handler (kagami-ru "learn from") (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler kagami-ru is Template:Category handler kagami-ru, without iteration marks)
• Template:Category handler (Template:Category handler) (donburi "porcelain bowl"), from Template:Category handler (doburi "[sound symbolism for something big and soft plopping down]")

From abbreviation of another pronunciation on this list

• Template:Category handler (Template:Category handler) (don "porcelain bowl"), originally pronounced dom; from aforementioned Template:Category handler (donburi "porcelain bowl")

From multiple processes

• Template:Category handler (on "[honorific prefix]"), originally pronounced om; from Template:Category handler (oho "great") + Template:Category handler (mi "august"), which became Template:Category handler (ohomi "august"), and then Template:Category handler by elision of after , and finally Template:Category handler (on) by elision of the full mora ; note the use of the character Template:Category handler instead of Template:Category handler is ateji (in modern orthography, Template:Category handler oho is Template:Category handler ō, Template:Category handler ohomi is Template:Category handler ōmi, and Template:Category handler ohon is おおん ōn)

From some semantic (rather than phonetic) process

• Template:Category handler (yon "four"), from Template:Category handler (yo "four) by analogy with Sino-Japanese Template:Category handler (san "three", originally pronounced sam)

Of course, there are also some words with this sound that either lack Chinese characters or were coined in the modern or Early Modern Japanese eras, when Template:Category handler (n) had been fully incorporated into the language. For example,

• Template:Category handler (san "[all-purpose honorific]"), originally pronounced sam; from Template:Category handler (sama "[respectful honorific]") (in modern orthography, the new character form Template:Category handler is used)

Regardless of how it came to be, the Japanese orthography lacked the character Template:Category handler (n) or any equivalent. Therefore, until the spelling reforms of 1900, Template:Category handler (mu) was generally used to represent the syllabic nasal. Sometimes, this convention may be preserved by modern writers, but standard historical kana distinguishes Template:Category handler (mu) from Template:Category handler (n).

There is one exception. In classical Japanese, there is an auxiliary verb (Template:Category handler jodōshi) Template:Category handler (mu) which indicated the volitional. It, too, underwent vowel elision, and came to be pronounced as and then . However, the conventions of standard historical kana call for this auxiliary verb (and any word derived from it) to be written with Template:Category handler (mu) even though they are pronounced as Template:Category handler (n).

Since the auxiliary verb Template:Category handler (mu) is non-existent in modern Japanese, there are no dialects that preserve the distinction expressed in this rule. However, some may preserve the distinction between final and .

Miscellaneous

Two other significant differences involve the way that kana are used in general, rather than which kana are used. The first is that Chinese characters in classical texts are often fully marked with ruby text (Template:Category handler Furigana), especially in old laws and other very important documents. Ruby text is still widely used in modern Japanese, but only for characters with non-standard or ambiguous pronunciations, or sometimes in materials designed for children or foreigners. The second difference is that, especially in legal documents, Katakana were often used in the way that Hiragana are used in modern Japanese, to write out adjective and verb inflections, suffixes, and particles (Template:Category handler Okurigana), and for the aforementioned ruby text.

Finally, kana iteration marks were far more common in classical Japanese, and sometimes used in ways that are considered completely obsolete in modern Japanese.

For an example of a major document written in the classical style, see as an example the original text of the 1890 Meiji Constitution, which is written in classical Japanese using historical kana, old character forms, kana iteration marks, and Katakana in place of Hiragana (although it lacks universal ruby text).

Grammar

Conjugation table

Classical Japanese has the following verb classes and stem forms:

Inflectional form = (stem) + Inflectional suffix

Inflectional Class	Inflectional form							Translation
	stem	Irrealis	Infinitive	Conclusive	Attributive	Realis	Imperative
Quadrigrade	(-i)	(-a)	(-i)	(-u)		(-e)		'hear'
Upper Monograde	–	(-i)		(m-iru)		(-ire)	(-i[yo])	'see'
		(-wi)		(-wiru)		(-wire)	(-wiyo)	'use'
Lower Monograde	–	(-e)		(-eru)		(-ere)	(-e[yo])	'kick'
Upper Bigrade		(-i)		(-u)	(-uru)	(-ure)	(-iyo)	'pass'
Lower Bigrade		(-e)		(-u)	(-uru)	(-ure)	(-e[yo])	'receive'
K-irregular	–	(-o)	(-i)	(-u)	(-uru)	(-ure)	(-o)	'come'
S-irregular	–	(-e)	(-i)	(-u)	(-uru)	(-ure)	(-e[yo])	'do'
		(-se)	(-si)	(-su)	(-suru)	(-sure)	(-seyo)	'set the date'
N-irregular		(-a)	(-i)	(-u)	(-uru)	(-ure)	(-e)	'die'
R-irregular		(-a)	(-i)		(-u)	(-e)		'be, exist'

Note that most S-irregular is the combination of a noun and ; for example, is a combination of the noun ('date') and .

The Template:Category handler (yo) at the end of the imperative forms is optional in classical Japanese, although exceedingly common.

Verb class distribution

While the many conjugation classes may seem overwhelming, most of them contain few verbs. The quadrigrade and lower bigrade classes are the primary, containing about 75% and 20% of the verbs in the language, respectively. The upper bigrade class is small (about 56 non-compound verbs), but sizable enough to make an exhaustive list difficult. The other 6 classes all together contain between 22 and 28 verbs, depending on whether basic compound verbs are included or not. An exhaustive list of these follows, with verbs in the conclusive form, as is the most common standard. Chinese character pronunciations are indicated by hiragana in parentheses following the given character. The first spelling listed for a given verb is the most common, and those that follow are alternative spellings. Some of these spellings are generally used for slightly different connotations of the same verb, while others are simple alternatives. In later reference, only the first spelling (in classical orthography) will be used, and the transcription will be based on the historical spelling. A blank cell in one (or both) of the "modern" columns indicates that the modern transcription is the same as the classical.

Japanese (Classical orthography)	Japanese (Modern orthography)	Romanization (Classical orthography)	Romanization (Modern orthography)	Translation
Template:Category handler (Kami ichidan katsuyō dōshi "Upper monograde conjugation class verbs")
Template:Category handler		Ki-ru		To wear
Template:Category handler		Ni-ru		To resemble
Template:Category handler		Ni-ru		To boil
Template:Category handler		Hi-ru		To sneeze
Template:Category handler		Hi-ru		To dry
Template:Category handler		Hi-ru		To winnow
Template:Category handler		Mi-ru		To go around
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Mi-ru		To see
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Kagami-ru		To learn from
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Kaherimi-ru	Kaerimi-ru	To reflect upon
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Kokoromi-ru		To try
Template:Category handler		I-ru		To shoot (an arrow)
Template:Category handler		I-ru		To douse (with water)
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	I-ru		To cast (metal)
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Wi-ru	I-ru	To sit
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Wi-ru	I-ru	To carry (constantly)
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Hikiwi-ru	Hikii-ru	To lead (an army)
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Mochiwi-ru	Mochii-ru	To use
Template:Category handler (Shimo ichidan katsuyō dōshi "Lower monograde conjugation class verbs")
Template:Category handler		Ke-ru		To kick
Template:Category handler (Ka-gyō henkaku dōshi "K-irregular verbs")
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	K-u		To come
Template:Category handler (Sa-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "S-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	S-u		To do
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Ohas-u	Owas-u	To be/go/come (honorific form)
Template:Category handler (Na-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "N-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Category handler		In-u		To go away
Template:Category handler		Shin-u		To die
Template:Category handler (Ra-gyō henkaku katsuyō dōshi "R-irregular conjugation class verbs")
Template:Category handler		Ar-i		To exist
Template:Category handler		Imasukar-i		To exist (honorific form)
Template:Category handler		Haber-i		To serve (humble form)
Template:Category handler	Template:Category handler	Wor-i	Or-i	To be

Table notes

Note that these translations are glosses, and may not reflect certain nuances or rare alternative meanings.

In addition, the translations are for the classical meaning of the verb, which may differ from the modern meaning of the verb if it has survived into modern Japanese either slightly (e.g., Template:Category handler ki-ru, which meant "to wear [in general]" in classical Japanese, but means "to wear [from the waist up]" in modern Japanese), or significantly (e.g., Template:Category handler wi-ru, which meant "to sit" in classical Japanese, but primarily means "to be" (for animate objects) in modern Japanese). Some may have the same meaning, but a different pronunciation (e.g., Template:Category handler kagami-ru "to learn from", which is generally pronounced and written Template:Category handler kangami-ru in modern Japanese). Also, even for those verbs which have survived with the same meaning and form, many are archaic and rarely used in modern Japanese (e.g., Template:Category handler hi-ru "to sneeze", with the same modern meaning and form, but almost never used). On the other hand, some have kept the same meaning, form, and prominence into the modern language (e.g., Template:Category handler mi-ru "to see", one of the oldest surviving verbs in the language and also one of the most common, both in classical and modern texts).

Template:Category handler (imasukar-i "to exist", honorific form) has three pronunciation variants, each of which can use either Chinese character: Template:Category handler (imasugar-i), Template:Category handler (imasokar-i), and Template:Category handler (imasogar-i).

Finally, the "modern" transcriptions are purely orthographic. For example, the modern version conclusive form of the classical verb Template:Category handler (k-u "to come") is Template:Category handler (k-uru), but the modern form is given in the table as Template:Category handler (k-u), which is the way that a modern Japanese writer would write the classical Japanese word, rather than the way they would write the modern Japanese word.

Classical Japanese has the following classes of adjectives and stem forms:

Class of Inflection	subclass	stem	Irrealis	Adverbial	Conclusive	Attributive	Realis	Imperative	Translation
-ku	main		( / )	(-ku)	(-si)	(-ki)	(-kere)		'be high'
	-kari		(-kara)	(-kari)		(-karu)		(-kare)
-siku	main		( / )	(-siku)	(-si)	(-siki)	(-sikere)		'be beautiful'
	-kari		(-sikara)	(-sikari)		(-sikaru)		(-sikare)

Table notes

The existence of irrealis form is still a controversy. Some scholars assume that the ancient construction called Template:Category handler (Ku-gohō "Ku-grammar") uses the irrealis form to form nouns from verbs and adjectives; e.g., Template:Category handler (yasu-shi "peaceful") → Template:Category handler (yasu-ke) + Template:Category handler (-ku) → Template:Category handler (yasukeku "peace of mind"). Meanwhile, others assumed the construction Template:Category handler (-kuba) / Template:Category handler (-shikuba) appears to be an irrealis form Template:Category handler (-ku) / Template:Category handler (-shiku) + particle Template:Category handler (-ba) (since that particle usually attaches to the irrealis form). However, the scholars agreeing with "Ku-grammar theory" argue that it's actually Template:Category handler (-ku) / Template:Category handler (-shiku) + particle Template:Category handler (ha; modern pronunciation wa) with a sequential voicing sound change from Template:Category handler (ha) to Template:Category handler (ba).

The compound forms are derived from continuative form Template:Category handler (-ku) / Template:Category handler (-shiku) + Template:Category handler (ar-i) → Template:Category handler (-kuar-i) / Template:Category handler (-shikuar-i), which then became Template:Category handler (-kar-i) / Template:Category handler (-shikar-i) by regular sound change rules from Old Japanese. The forms then follow the R-irregular conjugation type like Template:Category handler (ar-i), but lack the conclusive form.

Similarly, the basic conjugations have no imperative form. When it is used, therefore, the Template:Category handler (-kar-e) / Template:Category handler (-shikar-e) forms are used. It is however, relatively rare, even in classical Japanese.

There are the following classes for adjectival verbs:

Class of inflection	stem	Irrealis	Adverbial	Conclusive	Attributive	Realis	Imperative	Translation
Nari		(-nara)	(-nari)	(-nari)	(-naru)	(-nare)		'be static'
			(-ni)
Tari		(-tara)	(-tari)	(-tari)	(-taru)	(-tare)		''be quiet, soft"
			(-to)

Table notes

Adjectival verbs are essentially nouns(or stems of the adjectives) combined with an auxiliary verb, either Template:Category handler (-nar-i) or Template:Category handler (-tar-i).

Most tari-adjectival nouns are derived from Sino-Japanese vocabulary. For example, is derived from , a Chinese word meaning “quietly, softly”.

The auxiliary verbs are derived from directional particles Template:Category handler (ni) + Template:Category handler (-ar-i) and Template:Category handler (to) + Template:Category handler (-ar-i), respectively, yielding Template:Category handler (niar-i) and Template:Category handler (toar-i), respectively, which then lead to Template:Category handler (nar-i) and Template:Category handler (tar-i), respectively, by regular sound change rules. They therefore follow the R-irregular conjugation like Template:Category handler (ar-i).

As with adjectives, the imperative form is rare, but is used.

Miscellaneous

The particle Template:Category handler is omitted more often than in the spoken style.

See also

• Old Japanese
• Literary language

External links

• Bungo Nyūmon: A Brief Introduction to Classical Japanese
• Bibliography of premodern Japanese texts and translations
• Bart. "Book Review: A Grammar of Classical Japanese by Akira Komai", Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 34, No. 4 (Winter, 1979), pp. 501–504.
• Dictionaries for Classical Japanese