Building Word Power in Japanese: Using Kanji Prefixes and Suffixes Paperback – March 1, 2002

Here are three kanji prefixes from the book: Cho, meaning "super-," "ultra-," "supra-";

Dai, meaning "great"; and

Fu, meaning "un-," "non-," "dis-."

[The kanji and other Japanese script in the book are represented here by X's. The macrons in the original text are not given here.]

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X CHO Approximate English Equivalents: super-, ultra-; supra-.

A word formed with cho- most commonly denotes an extreme degree or extreme example of what is denoted by the base (examples 1, 2, 3, 4). In other cases, however, a word formed with cho- means "transcending" what is denoted by the base (example 5).

(1) xxx cho-dendo "superconduction." BASE: xx dendo "conduction." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cho-dendo ga chumoku sareru yo ni natta. Superconduction has come to attract attention.

(2) xxxxxx cho-derakkusu (na) "superdeluxe." BASE: xxxxx derakkusu (na) "deluxe."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Hawai ni cho-derakkusu na hoteru ga taterareta. Superdeluxe hotels were built in Hawaii.

(3) xxx cho-man'in (no) "crowded beyond capacity." BASE: xx man'in (no) "crowded to capacity." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kanojo wa maiasa, cho-man'in no densha ni noru. Every morning she rides a train packed to overflowing.

(4) xxx cho-taikoku "superpower." BASE: xx taikoku "powerful country."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Sekai no cho-taikoku to iwareru no wa Soren to Amerika da. The countries said to be global superpowers are the Soviet Union and the United States.

(5) xxx cho-toha (no) "nonpartisan." BASE: xx toha "faction, party." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Cho-toha no iin-kai ga dekita. A nonpartisan committee was formed.

xx ichiryu (no) "first-rate." xxx cho-ichiryu (no) "ultra-first-rate."

xxxx kokka-shugi "nationalism."

xxxxx cho-kokka-shugi "ultra-nationalism."

xxxx supiido "speed." xxxxx cho-supiido "super-speed."

xx noryoku "ability." xxx cho-noryoku "supernatural power."

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X DAI Approximate English Equivalent: great.

The semantic effect of adding dai- to a base is similar to the effect in English of modifying a word with "great" or "greatly." The semantic range of dai- is roughly "large, serious, extreme, excellent, grand." With few exceptions, the base is a noun or a nominal adjective, and the word with dai- falls in the same category. The range of use of dai- overlaps with that of x- mei- (not included), but mei- is added only to noun bases.

(1) xxx dai-hantai "strong opposition." BASE: xx hantai "opposition." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Haha wa musume no kekkon ni dai-hantai datta. The mother was strongly opposed to her daughter's marriage.

(2) xxxxxx dai-homuran "long home run." BASE: xxxxx homuran "home run." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Tanaka-senshu wa hyakuyonju-metoru ijo no dai-homuran o utta. Tanaka hit a tremendous home run of over 140 meters.

(3) xxx dai-kozui "great flood." BASE: xx kozui "flood." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Senkyuhyaku-sanjusan-nen no dai-kozui de takusan no hito ga shinda. Many people died in the great flood of 1933.

(4) xxx dai-ryuko "great popularity." BASE: xx ryuko "popularity." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Furafupu wa Nihon de mo Amerika de mo dai-ryuko shita. The hula hoop was enormously popular both in Japan and in the United States.

(5) xxx dai-sakka "great writer." BASE: xx sakka "writer." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Dikenzu wa jukyu-seiki no dai-sakka datta. Dickens was a great writer of the 19th century.

xx hosaku "good harvest." xxx dai-hosaku "extremely good harvest."

xx haiboku "defeat." xxx dai-haiboku "great defeat."

xx kyoko "panic." xxx dai-kyoko "great panic."

xx seiko "success." xxx ) dai-seiko "great success."

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X FU Approximate English Equivalents: un-, non-, dis-.

A word formed with fu- involves a negation of what is denoted by the base. The base may be either a noun or an adjectival noun, and when the base is a noun, the word with fu- may be a noun (examples 4, 7) or, more commonly, an adjectival noun (examples 1, 2, 5, 6, 8). In some cases, a word with fu- can function as either: xxx fu-keiki / ~ (na) "(economic) depression / (economically) depressed." In range of use, fu- overlaps with x- hi- (q.v.) and x- mu- (q.v.); for details, see Aihara (1986) and Martin (1975: 388-391, 763-765). Words with fu- tend to involve an unfavorable evaluation (Zimmer 1964: 75), and unlike hi- and mu-, fu- can mean "bad" (example 7). There are a few words formed with etymologically related x- bu- instead of fu-: xxx bu-shitsuke (na) (ill-mannered).

(I) xxx fu-antei (na) "unstable." BASE: xx antei "stability." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Gyogyo wa totemo fu-antei na shokugyo da. The fishing industry is a very unstable business.

(2) xxx fu-eisei (na) "unsanitary." BASE: xx eisei "sanitation." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fu-eisei na no de, sono resutoran ni wa ikitaku nai. I don't want to go to that restaurant because it's unsanitary.

(3) xxx fu-hitsuyo (na) "unnecessary." BASE: xx hitsuyo / ~ (na) "necessity / necessary." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kare no hanashi wa itsu mo fu-hitsuyo ni komakai. What he says is always unnecessarily detailed.

(4) xxx fu-itchi "disagreement." BASE: xx itchi "agreement." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Iken no fu-itchi o osorete wa ikenai. You should not fear differences of opinion.

(5) xxx fu-kisoku (na) "irregular." BASE: xx kisoku "rule." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Eigo ni wa fu-kisoku na doshi ga takusan aru. In English there are many irregular verbs.

(6) xxx fu-nare (na) "unaccustomed." BASE: xx nare "getting accustomed." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Chugoku-jin no kanojo wa, mada Nihon no seikatsu ni fu-nare da. A Chinese, she is still unaccustomed to Japanese life.

(7) xxx fu-seiseki "poor showing." BASE: xx seiseki "showing, results." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Nihon-chiimu wa konkai no shiai mo fu-seiseki ni owatta. The Japanese team made a poor showing in this match also.

(8) xxx fu-shizen (na) "unnatural." BASE: xx shizen / ~ (na) "nature / natural." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fu-shizen na kotoba-zukai wa sakeru beki da. Unnatural language should be avoided.

(9) xxx fu-tekito (na) "inappropriate." BASE: xx tekito (na) "appropriate." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Kojin-teki na kiji wa kono zasshi ni fu-tekito da. Articles of a personal nature are inappropriate to this magazine.

(10) xxx fu-tomei (na) "opaque." BASE: xx tomei (na) "transparent." xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Atarashii seisaku wa kokumin ni wa mattaku fu-tomei datta. The new political policy was completely opaque to the people.

xx gokaku "passing, success." xxx fu-gokaku "flunking, failure."

xx jubun (na) "sufficient." xxx fu-jubun (na) "insufficient."

xx kano (na) "possible." xxx fu-kano (na) "impossible."

xx sanka "participation." xxx fu-sanka "nonparticipation."