咫あた

Meanings

hand-span unit (approx. 18 cm)

archaic

Archaic unit of length based on the distance between the tip of the thumb and the tip of the middle finger when stretched apart. Used historically as a suffix or counter, e.g., 一咫 (ひとあた).

古ふるい文ぶん献けんには「一ひと咫あた」という長ながさの単たん位いが出でてくる。
The unit of length 'ひとあた' appears in old documents.
咫あたは親おや指ゆびと中なか指ゆびを広ひろげた長ながさで、約やく18センチメートルにあたる。
An ata is the distance between the outstretched thumb and middle finger, about 18 centimeters.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Grammar

一人ひとり・二に本ほん・三さん冊さつnumbers and countersN5

Kanji

咫short, span
尺shaku, Japanese foot, measure

Related words

尺しゃく
尺 (しゃく) is a more common traditional unit of length, approximately 30.3 cm, still used in some contexts like carpentry. 咫 (あた) is a much rarer, archaic unit about 18 cm.
寸すん
寸 (すん) is another traditional unit, about 3.03 cm, often used in idiomatic expressions. 咫 is less common and refers to a hand-span.

Word family

八咫やあた
eight ata (approx. 144 cm) · large; long

Written forms

咫Usage54%
- あた
  Archaic kanji for the traditional hand-span unit; rarely used in modern Japanese.
- た
あたUsage46%
Kana spelling for the archaic unit; useful for learners encountering the term in historical contexts.
尺あた
Alternate kanji form, also archaic; 尺 more commonly read as しゃく (approx. 30.3 cm).
た

Etymology

The word あた is of native Japanese origin, referring to the span of a hand. The kanji 咫 is a Chinese character adopted for this meaning. The alternate reading た is a bound form used in compounds.