CHINESE WORDS. 7
corruptions of the Chinese pronunciation of over a thousand years ago. One of these is called the Go-on, the other the Kan-on, from the names of certain ancient Chinese kingdoms. Usage decrees that the same word shall be pronounced according to the Go-on in some con- texts, and according to the Kan-on in others. Thus the myo of dai-myo, " a feudal noble" (lit. " a great name"), is the same as the mei of mei-butsu, " the chief production of a locality (lit. " a name thing" i.e. " a famous thing"). In this case myo is the Go-on, mei the Kan-on of the same Chinese character , which in China itself is pro- nounced ming. The practical student will do best to learn words by rote, without troubling himself whether each term, if Chinese, be in the Go-on or in the Kan-on. IT 6. The effect of the steady influx of Chinese words during more than a millennium has been to discredit the native Japanese equivalents even when they exist. A foreigner who wishes to be considered an elegant speaker should, therefore, gradually accustom himself to employ Chinese words very freely, except when addressing uneducated persons. He should, for instance, use
CHINESE JAPANESE.
aku-shin, " a bad heart,'* rather than wand kokoro.
i-rai, " henceforward," ,, ,, kore kara.
kai-hen, " the sea-shore," ,, ,, umibe.
Wa-sei, "Japanese made," rather]
than j **
Yo-Bei, "Europe and America," ( Yoroppa to Ame- rather than rika to.
Some person's indeed, both Japanese and foreign, regret
