玉ぎょく音おん

also: ぎょくいん

ぎょ

く

お

ん

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

the Emperor's voice

Specifically refers to the voice of the Emperor of Japan, often used in historical or formal contexts, especially regarding the 1945 radio broadcast of the surrender.

終しゅう戦せんの日ひ、国こく民みんは初はじめて玉ぎょく音おん放ほう送そうを聞きいた。
On the day the war ended, the people heard the Emperor's voice broadcast for the first time.

noun

beautiful voice; beautiful sound

Literary or poetic term for a voice or sound that is as beautiful as a gem. Not used in everyday conversation.

彼かの女じょの歌うた声ごえはまさに玉ぎょく音おんと称しょうするにふさわしい。
Her singing voice is truly worthy of being called a beautiful sound.

Kanji

玉jewel, ball
音sound, noise

Related words

玉ぎょく音おん放ほう送そう
The specific historical broadcast of the Emperor's surrender speech in 1945; 玉音 alone refers to the voice itself.

Word family

玉ぎょく音おん盤ばん
recording disc of the Imperial surrender message
玉ぎょく音おん放ほう送そう
Imperial broadcast of surrender; Hirohito's radio address ending WWII

Written forms

玉音Usage100%
- ぎょくおん
  Standard kanji spelling; the reading ぎょくおん is the most common.
- ぎょくいん
  Alternate reading; less common and may be considered archaic or literary.
ぎょくいん

Etymology

From 玉 (jewel, beautiful) + 音 (sound, voice). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the term has been used in classical Chinese and Japanese to refer to an emperor's voice or a beautiful sound.