明かり

Japanese
Kanji in this term
明
あ
Grade: 2
kun’yomi
Alternative spellings
明り
明
灯かり
灯り
灯

Etymology

The 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb 明(あ)かる (akaru, “to become bright”)..[1][2][3]

This term originally referred to natural light, while the sense of lamp or lighting was expressed using the term 灯火 (tomoshibi, literally “set alight + fire”). The term akari gained its modern lighting sense during the late Edo period, and has now largely displaced tomoshibi for this sense.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

明(あ)かり • (akari) 

  1. [from 1163] light
    Synonym: 光 (hikari)
  2. 灯り: [from 1809] lighting, a light, a lamp, artificial illumination
    Synonyms: 照明 (shōmei), (archaic) 灯火 (tomoshibi), ランプ (ranpu), 電灯 (dentō, specifically electric light), 電気 (denki, specifically electric light)
    明(あ)かりを点(つ)ける。
    Akari o tsukeru.
    Turn on the light.
  3. [from 1603] a bright place; (figurative) a public place
  4. [from 1701] a positive sign amidst adversity (compare English light at the end of the tunnel)
  5. [from 1780] (figurative) evidence that dispels a question or doubt
    Synonym: 証し (akashi)
  6. [from 1566] (figurative) the end of a period of time or a dark mood (compare English dawn, daybreak)
    Synonym: 明け (ake, literally “dawn”)

References
  1. “明かり”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, “Nihon Kokugo Daijiten”)‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000
  2. Matsumura, Akira (1995) 大辞泉 [Daijisen] (in Japanese), First edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
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