noun
gō; traditional volume unit; about 180 ml
Traditional Japanese unit of volume, especially still common for rice and sake. One 合 is about 180 ml; ten 合 make one 升.
米を二合炊いた。
I cooked two gō of rice.
日本酒を一合だけ注文した。
I ordered just one gō of sake.
noun
traditional area unit; about 0.33 square meters
Traditional unit of area equal to one-tenth of a 坪, about 0.33 square meters. This is uncommon in ordinary modern conversation and is more likely in old measurements or records.
古い土地台帳には、面積が三坪五合と記されている。
In the old land register, the area is recorded as three tsubo and five gō.
noun
one-tenth stage of a mountain ascent
Used in mountain-stage expressions such as 五合目, where the climb from base to summit is divided into ten parts.
富士山の五合目までバスで行った。
We went by bus as far as the fifth station of Mt. Fuji.
noun
Astronomy term for conjunction, especially when a celestial body appears in the same direction as the sun or another body. Often appears in compounds such as 内合 and 外合.
See also: 衝
天文暦には、金星の内合の日付が載っている。
The astronomical calendar lists the date of Venus's inferior conjunction.
noun
Short or table-style use corresponding to 合計. It is more natural in headings, forms, ledgers, or labels than as an ordinary standalone word in conversation.
See also: 合計
伝票の最後の欄に「合」と書いて総額を示す。
The final column of the slip is marked 合 to show the total amount.
noun
synthesis in dialectics
Philosophical term in dialectics, especially in the triad 正・反・合, corresponding to synthesis after thesis and antithesis.
弁証法では、正と反の対立から合が生まれると説明される。
In dialectics, synthesis is explained as arising from the conflict between thesis and antithesis.
noun
minor premise in hetuvidya
Specialized term in Buddhist/Indian logic, called hetuvidya in English. This is not a general modern use of 合.
因明の説明では、「合」を小前提に当たる語として扱うことがある。
In explanations of hetuvidya, 合 may be treated as the term corresponding to the minor premise.
counter
counter for covered containers
Counter use for lidded or covered containers. It is limited and uncommon in present-day everyday Japanese, so it is most likely to be encountered in specialized, historical, or dictionary contexts.
蓋のある容器を数える古い用法で、「一合、二合」と言うことがある。
In an older usage for counting lidded containers, one may say ichigō, nigō.
counter
counter for matches or clashes; bout; exchange
Counter for bouts, battles, or exchanges of blows. In modern Japanese it is mainly literary or fixed-phrase-like, as in 一合交える.
二人の剣士は一合交えただけで間合いを取った。
The two swordsmen exchanged just one clash before taking distance.
A larger traditional volume unit; one 升 equals ten 合. 合 is the unit commonly seen with rice and sake amounts.
A traditional area unit; one 坪 equals ten 合 in the area-unit sense. 坪 is much more widely recognized today.
The practical mountain-stage word formed from 合 plus 目, as in 五合目. Learners are more likely to encounter 合 in this compound than as a standalone mountain term.
The normal everyday word for 'total' or 'sum.' The single-character 合 for this meaning is an abbreviated or table-style form.
Astronomy term for opposition, contrasted with 合 'conjunction.'
合 is read ごう in Sino-Japanese vocabulary. The character is conventionally associated with joining or combining, which relates clearly to senses such as total, conjunction, and dialectical synthesis; the traditional unit and counter uses are established conventional uses whose exact historical development is not.