無名指
See also: 无名指
Chinese
finger; to point; to direct finger; to point; to direct; to indicate | |||
---|---|---|---|
trad. (無名指) | 無名 | 指 | |
simp. (无名指) | 无名 | 指 | |
Literally: “nameless finger”. |
Etymology
From Mencius:
- 今有無名之指,屈而不信,非疾痛害事也,如有能信之者,則不遠秦楚之路,為指之不若人也。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
- From: Mencius, c. 4th century BCE
- Jīn yǒu wúmíng zhī zhǐ, qū ér bù shēn, fēi jítòng hàishì yě, rú yǒu néng shēn zhī zhě, zé bù yuǎn Qín Chǔ zhī lù, wèi zhǐ zhī bù ruò rén yě. [Pinyin]
- Here is a man whose fourth finger is bent and cannot be stretched out straight. It is not painful, nor does it incommode his business, and yet if there be any one who can make it straight, he will not think the way from Qin to Chu far to go to him; because his finger is not like the finger of other people.
今有无名之指,屈而不信,非疾痛害事也,如有能信之者,则不远秦楚之路,为指之不若人也。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
Pronunciation
Synonyms
Dialectal synonyms of 無名指 (“ring finger”) [map]
Japanese
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term | ||
---|---|---|
無 | 名 | 指 |
む Grade: 4 |
めい Grade: 1 |
し Grade: 3 |
on’yomi |
Borrowed from Middle Chinese 無名指 (mɨo miᴇŋ t͡ɕˠiɪX, literally “no, without + name + finger”). Compare modern Cantonese reading mou4 ming4 zi2, Hakka mò-miàng-chí.
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term | ||
---|---|---|
無 | 名 | 指 |
Grade: 4 | Grade: 1 | ゆび Grade: 3 |
irregular |
Calque of Middle Chinese 無名指 (“unnamed finger”), swapping the readings of the first two kanji to match Japanese word order.
This reading is more commonly spelled 名無し指.
Alternative forms
- 名無し指 (more common)
References
- Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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