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Words Kanji Guides About

辞典 (ことばてん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

辞典ことばてん

こ

と

ば

て

ん

Meanings

1

noun

dictionary; lexicon

A general term for a dictionary or lexicon. Often used in compound titles or when referring to a dictionary as a concept.

See also: 辞典 (じてん)

この辞じ典てんはとても詳くわしい。
This dictionary is very detailed.
新あたらしい国こく語ご辞じ典てんを買かった。
I bought a new Japanese-language dictionary.

Written forms

辞典ことばてん
Standard kanji spelling for this word.
ことば典てん
Alternate kanji spelling using ことば for the first part; less common.
言こと葉ば典てん
Alternate kanji spelling using 言葉 for the first part; less common.

Kanji

典code, ceremony, law
言

say, word

葉leaf, plane, lobe

辞resign, word, term

Similar words

辞じ典てん
じてん is the standard reading for 辞典, while ことばてん is a less common alternative reading that explicitly uses the kun'yomi of 言葉.
辞じ書しょ
辞書 is a more common everyday word for 'dictionary', while ことばてん is rarer and may sound more formal or literary.

Etymology

Compound of 言葉 (ことば, 'word') and 典 (てん, 'reference work'). The reading ことばてん is a kun'yomi-based alternative to the more common on'yomi reading じてん for 辞典.