人質

See also: 人质

Chinese
man; person; people
 
hostage; substance; nature
hostage; substance; nature; quality
trad. (人質) 人 質
simp. (人质) 人 质

Pronunciation

Noun

人質

  1. hostage
    營救人質／营救人质  ―  yíngjiù rénzhì  ―  to rescue hostages

Synonyms

Japanese
Kanji in this term
人 質
ひと
Grade: 1		 しち > じち
Grade: 5
yutōyomi

Etymology

Compound of 人 (hito, “person”) +‎ 質 (shichi, “pawn, hock”).[1] The shichi changes to jichi as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

The original sense was “indentureship”, from the sense of a person being as if in pawn until a debt is paid. The “hostage” sense then arose by extension, from the person being in pawn until a ransom is paid or some other condition is met.

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) ひとじち [hìtójíchí] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [çi̥to̞ʑit͡ɕi]

Noun

人(ひと)質(じち) • (hitojichi) 

  1. a hostage
    人(ひと)質(じち)事(じ)件(けん)
    hitojichi jiken
    a hostage situation
    • 2013 September 9, Hideaki Sorachi, “第(だい)四(よん)百(ひゃく)五(ご)十(じゅう)一(いち)訓(くん)人(にん)間(げん)五(ご)十(じゅう)年(ねん)下(げ)天(てん)のうちをくらぶれば　夢(ゆめ) モヒカンの如(ごと)くなり (人(にん)間(げん)五(ご)十(じゅう)年(ねん)下(げ)天(てん)のうちをくらぶれば　夢(ゆめ) モヒカンの如(ごと)くなり) [Lesson 451: Man’s Fifty Years of Life Are Nothing Compared to All Things under the Sky. Nothing But a Dream, a Mohawk.]”, in 銀(ぎん)魂(たま) (銀(ぎん)魂(たま)) [Silver Soul], volume 51 (fiction), Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:
      落(お)ちつけ　斬(き)り込(こ)みなんてそう簡(かん)単(たん)にできるワケねーだろ　アンタらには俺(おれ)達(たち)人(ひと)質(じち)がついてんだぜ
      Ochitsuke kirikomi nan te sō kantan ni dekiru wake nē daro Anta-ra ni wa ore-tachi hitojichi ga tsuite n da ze
      Chill out, they can’t just barge in here and hurt everyone. You guys still have us as hostages.
  2. (archaic, original sense) indentureship, the state of being in servitude to another as collateral on or payment of a debt

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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