# 可愛い
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

Kanji in this term :
| 可 | 愛 |
| か Grade: 5 (ateji) | あい > わい Grade: 4 (ateji) |
| on'yomi | irregular |
/kawajui/ → /kawaiː/
Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below.
The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当て字), and uses an irregular reading of 愛. The phonological resemblance to Chinese 可愛 / 可爱 (kě'ài, “lovable”, Mandarin kě'ài, Min Nan khó-ài) is coincidental. Note that the medial -w- here is not an excrescence added between ka (可) and ai (愛), since the word is not formed from these morphemes.
Already realized phonetically as /kawaiː/ by the early 1600s, and possibly found alongside older form kawayui, as seen in the 1603 edition of the Nippo Jisho.

#### Alternative forms

* (informal, cutesy) かあいい (kāii), きゃわいい (kyawaii)
* (slang) カワユス (kawayusu), かわE(いい) (kawaii)

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) かわいい [kàwáíꜜì] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [ka̠β̞a̠ii]
* Audio:(file)
* Tokyo pitch accent of inflected forms of 「可愛い」
Source: Online Japanese Accent Dictionary :
| Stem forms ||||
| Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわいく かわいく | [kàwáꜜìkù] [kàwáíꜜkù] |
| Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわいい | [kàwáíꜜì] |
| Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわいい | [kàwáíꜜì] |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわいくない かわいくない | [kàwáꜜìkùnàì] [kàwáíꜜkùnàì] |
| Informal past | 可愛かった | かわいかった かわいかった | [kàwáꜜìkàttà] [kàwáíꜜkàttà] |
| Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわいくなかった かわいくなかった | [kàwáꜜìkùnàkàttà] [kàwáíꜜkùnàkàttà] |
| Formal | 可愛いです | かわいいです | [kàwáíꜜìdèsù] |
| Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわいくて かわいくて | [kàwáꜜìkùtè] [kàwáíꜜkùtè] |
| Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわいければ かわいければ | [kàwáꜜìkèrèbà] [kàwáíꜜkèrèbà] |

#### Adjective

可(か)愛(わい)い • (kawaii) -i (adverbial 可(か)愛(わい)く (kawaiku))
* lovable, beloved
    可(か)愛(わい)い子(こ)には旅(たび)をさせよ
       kawaii ko ni wa tabi o saseyo
       spare the rod and spoil the child
       (literally, “send your beloved child on a journey”)
* cute, adorable
    Synonyms: (Tōhoku, Hokkaido) めんこい, (Tsugaru) めごい
    かわいい子(こ)と付(つ)き合(あ)う
       kawaii ko to tsukiau
       to go out with (date) a cute girl
    食(た)べちゃいたいくらい可愛(かわい)い
       tabechaitai kurai kawaii
       so cute I could just eat you up
** 2003 September 22, Akinobu Uraku, “第(だい)63(ろくじゅうさん)話(わ)　幼(おさな)い記(き)憶(おく) [Chapter 63: Childish Memories]”, in 東(とう)京(きょう)アンダーグラウンド [Tokyo Underground], volume 11 (fiction), Square Enix, →ISBN, page 99:
    暴(あば)れなきゃ可(か)愛(わい)い顔(かお)なんだよな
       Abarenakya kawaii kao na n da yo na
       Her face when she’s not mad is actually pretty cute.
** 2018, Aka Akasaka, “第(だい)92(きゅうじゅうに)話(わ)　かぐや様(さま)を照(て)れさせたい [Chapter 92: He Wants to Make Kaguya-sama Feel Embarrassed]”, in かぐや様は告らせたい〜天才たちの恋愛頭脳戦〜 [Kaguya-sama Wants to Make Him Confess: The Intellectual Battle of Love Between Geniuses], volume 10 (fiction), Shueisha:
    私(わたし)なんかより藤(ふじ)原(わら)さんの方(ほう)が可(か)愛(わい)いですよ可(か)愛(わい)さと綺(き)麗(れい)さは別(べつ)物(もの)だろ
       Watashi nanka yori Fujiwara-san no hō ga kawaii desu yo
       Fujiwara's more cute than I am.
       Kawaisa to kireisa wa betsumono daro
       Cuteness and beauty aren't the same now, are they?

##### Usage notes

* Often spelled in hiragana.

##### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 可愛かろ | かわいかろ | kawaikaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわいく | kawaiku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわいい | kawaii |
| Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわいい | kawaii |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 可愛けれ | かわいけれ | kawaikere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 可愛かれ | かわいかれ | kawaikare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわいくない | kawaiku nai |
| Informal past | 可愛かった | かわいかった | kawaikatta |
| Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわいくなかった | kawaiku nakatta |
| Formal | 可愛いです | かわいいです | kawaii desu |
| Formal negative | 可愛くないです | かわいくないです | kawaiku nai desu |
| Formal past | 可愛かったです | かわいかったです | kawaikatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 可愛くなかったです | かわいくなかったです | kawaiku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわいくて | kawaikute |
| Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわいければ | kawaikereba |
| Provisional | 可愛かったら | かわいかったら | kawaikattara |
| Volitional | 可愛かろう | かわいかろう | kawaikarō |
| Adverbial | 可愛く | かわいく | kawaiku |
| Degree | 可愛さ | かわいさ | kawaisa |

##### Derived terms

* 可(か)愛(わい)そう, 可(か)哀(わい)相(そう), 可(か)哀(わい)想(そう) (kawaisō): pitiful, pitiable, poor, sad
* 可(か)愛(わい)がる (kawaigaru): to think that someone or something is cute, to be sweet on someone or something
* 可(か)愛(わ)い気(げ) (kawaige): cuteness, lovableness
* 可(か)愛(わい)らしい (kawairashii): cute-like, cute-looking
* 可(か)愛(わい)くない (kawaikunai)

### Etymology 2

Kanji in this term :
| 可 | 愛 |
| かわゆ ||
| Grade: 5 | Grade: 4 |
| jukujikun ||
From classical Japanese /kawo hajuɕi/ → /kawajui/.
A contraction of classical 顔映し (kawahayushi, “embarrassing, shameful”). The meaning underwent an ameliorative semantic shift from shameful to evoking pity, to evoking compassion, and then to lovable. The kanji spelling appears to be jukujikun (熟字訓), from the above reading. Compare Korean 예쁘다 (yeppeu-da), which originally meant poor (as in "poor, poor kid") but now means pretty.

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) かわゆい [kàwáyúꜜì] (Nakadaka –)
* IPA: [ka̠β̞a̠jɯ̟i]
* This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

#### Adjective

可愛(かわゆ)い • (kawayui) -i (adverbial 可愛(かわゆ)く (kawayuku))
* embarrassed, having a guilty conscience: see 顔映し (kawahayushi).
* (obsolete) pitiable, pitiful
** 1632, Diego Collado, Dictionarium sive thesauri linguae Iaponicae compendium
    Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij. (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.Miſerabilis, e: coſa que cauſa laſtima, cavaij. (Latin:) Wretched; (Spanish:) thing that causes pity, kawaii.(please add an English translation of this quotation)
* lovable, adorable, cute

##### Inflection

Stem forms :
| Imperfective (未然形) | 可愛かろ | かわゆかろ | kawayukaro |
| Continuative (連用形) | 可愛く | かわゆく | kawayuku |
| Terminal (終止形) | 可愛い | かわゆい | kawayui |
| Attributive (連体形) | 可愛い | かわゆい | kawayui |
| Hypothetical (仮定形) | 可愛けれ | かわゆけれ | kawayukere |
| Imperative (命令形) | 可愛かれ | かわゆかれ | kawayukare |
| Key constructions ||||
| Informal negative | 可愛くない | かわゆくない | kawayuku nai |
| Informal past | 可愛かった | かわゆかった | kawayukatta |
| Informal negative past | 可愛くなかった | かわゆくなかった | kawayuku nakatta |
| Formal | 可愛いです | かわゆいです | kawayui desu |
| Formal negative | 可愛くないです | かわゆくないです | kawayuku nai desu |
| Formal past | 可愛かったです | かわゆかったです | kawayukatta desu |
| Formal negative past | 可愛くなかったです | かわゆくなかったです | kawayuku nakatta desu |
| Conjunctive | 可愛くて | かわゆくて | kawayukute |
| Conditional | 可愛ければ | かわゆければ | kawayukereba |
| Provisional | 可愛かったら | かわゆかったら | kawayukattara |
| Volitional | 可愛かろう | かわゆかろう | kawayukarō |
| Adverbial | 可愛く | かわゆく | kawayuku |
| Degree | 可愛さ | かわゆさ | kawayusa |

### See also

* 可愛(えの)岳(だけ) (Enodake)

### References

* 1 2 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
* ↑ 1603, Nippo Jisho (in Portuguese), relevant text here. Left-hand column, third entry down, listed as Cauaij.
* 1 2 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN