珍しい

Japanese
Kanji in this term
珍
めずら
Grade: S
kun’yomi

Etymology

From classical -na adjective 珍 (mezura) + adjectivizing suffix しい (shii).

Ultimately from Old Japanese verb 愛づ (medu, medzu), modern Japanese 愛でる (mederu, “to love; to admire, to appreciate”).[1][2]

The meaning originally referred to something that was admirable or favorable, something that had value, as an extension of the underlying verb. This meaning is used in the Man'yōshū, dating to the mid-700s. This further extended to indicate something that was rare or unusual in ways that one would find notable or attractive, and this meaning was also already used in the Man'yōshū. Over time, the admirable sense weakened, and the rare sense became dominant.

Cognate with Northern Amami-Oshima 珍っさり (むぃずぃらっさり, mïzïrassari).

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) めずらし​い [mèzúráshíꜜì] (Nakadaka – [4])[2]
  • IPA(key): [me̞zɨᵝɾa̠ɕiː]
  • Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of "珍しい"
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary
Stem forms
Continuative (連用形) 珍しく めずら​しく
めずらし​く		 [mèzúráꜜshìkù]
[mèzúráshíꜜkù]
Terminal (終止形) 珍しい めずらし​い [mèzúráshíꜜì]
Attributive (連体形) 珍しい めずらし​い [mèzúráshíꜜì]
Key constructions
Informal negative 珍しくない めずら​しくない
めずらし​くない		 [mèzúráꜜshìkùnàì]
[mèzúráshíꜜkùnàì]
Informal past 珍しかった めずら​しかった
めずらし​かった		 [mèzúráꜜshìkàttà]
[mèzúráshíꜜkàttà]
Informal negative past 珍しくなかった めずら​しくなかった
めずらし​くなかった		 [mèzúráꜜshìkùnàkàttà]
[mèzúráshíꜜkùnàkàttà]
Formal 珍しいです めずらし​いです [mèzúráshíꜜìdèsù]
Conjunctive 珍しくて めずら​しくて
めずらし​くて		 [mèzúráꜜshìkùtè]
[mèzúráshíꜜkùtè]
Conditional 珍しければ めずら​しければ
めずらし​ければ		 [mèzúráꜜshìkèrèbà]
[mèzúráshíꜜkèrèbà]

Adjective

珍(めずら)しい • (mezurashii) ←めづらしい (medurasii)?-i (adverbial 珍(めずら)しく (mezurashiku))

  1. rare, unusual
    このコインは珍(めずら)しい。
    Kono koin wa mezurashii.
    This coin is rare.

Inflection
Inflection of 珍しい
Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形) 珍しかろ めずらしかろ mezurashikaro
Continuative (連用形) 珍しく めずらしく mezurashiku
Terminal (終止形) 珍しい めずらしい mezurashii
Attributive (連体形) 珍しい めずらしい mezurashii
Hypothetical (仮定形) 珍しけれ めずらしけれ mezurashikere
Imperative (命令形) 珍しかれ めずらしかれ mezurashikare
Key constructions
Informal negative 珍しくない めずらしくない mezurashiku nai
Informal past 珍しかった めずらしかった mezurashikatta
Informal negative past 珍しくなかった めずらしくなかった mezurashiku nakatta
Formal 珍しいです めずらしいです mezurashii desu
Formal negative 珍しくないです めずらしくないです mezurashiku nai desu
Formal past 珍しかったです めずらしかったです mezurashikatta desu
Formal negative past 珍しくなかったです めずらしくなかったです mezurashiku nakatta desu
Conjunctive 珍しくて めずらしくて mezurashikute
Conditional 珍しければ めずらしければ mezurashikereba
Provisional 珍しかったら めずらしかったら mezurashikattara
Volitional 珍しかろう めずらしかろう mezurashikarō
Adverbial 珍しく めずらしく mezurashiku
Degree 珍しさ めずらしさ mezurashisa

References
  1. Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
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