# くつ
## Japanese
### Etymology 1

* Alternative spellings
* 靴 沓 (uncommon) 履 (uncommon) 鞋 (uncommon) 鞾 (uncommon)
⟨kutu⟩: */kutu/ → /kut͡su/
From Old Japanese. Found in the Man'yōshū poetry compilation, completed circa 759.
Ultimate derivation unclear. Some Japanese sources suggest a borrowing from or cognate with Korean 구두 (gudu, “shoes”), but then some Korean sources suggest that the Korean term was borrowed from Japanese 靴 (kutsu, “shoes”). (Can this etymology be sourced?)

#### Pronunciation

* (Tokyo) くつ [kùtsúꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
* IPA: [kɯ̟̊t͡sɨ]

#### Noun

くつ • (kutsu)
* footwear, footgear: a shoe, (a pair of) shoes
** c. 759, Man’yōshū, book 14, poem 3399:, text here:
    信濃道者 伊麻能波里美知 可里婆祢尓 安思布麻之<奈牟> 久都波氣和我世
    信(しな)濃(ぬ)道(ぢ)は　今(いま)の墾(は)り道(みち)　刈(か)りばねに　足(あし)踏(ふ)ましなむ　沓(くつ)はけ我(わ)が背(せ)
       shinanuji wa ima no harimichi karibane ni ashi fumashinamu kutsu hake wagase
       the Shinano road has just been opened; wear shoes, my brother / my dear, so you do not step on the brush stubble [in your bare feet]

##### Synonyms

* シューズ (shūzu)

##### Derived terms

* 靴(くつ)下(した) (kutsushita): sock
* 靴(くつ)擦(ず)れ (kutsuzure): literally “shoe rubbing”: a blister on one's foot due to ill-fitting shoes
* 長(なが)靴(ぐつ) (nagagutsu): boot

### Etymology 2

* Alternative spelling
* 口
/kutu/ → /kut͡su/
From Old Japanese. Appears in compound terms listed in the Wamyō Ruijushō of 938 CE.
The ancient combining form of modern 口(くち) (kuchi). Likely the original form.
No longer productive in modern Japanese. Only found in older compounds.

#### Pronunciation

* IPA: [kɯ̟t͡sɨ]
* The pitch accent is derived from the entire compound word.

#### Noun

くつ • (kutsu)
* 口: prefixal bound form of くち (kuchi, “mouth”)

##### Derived terms

* 口(くつ)号(うた) (kutsūta): an improvised poem or song
* 口(くつ)籠(こ) (kutsuko): a muzzle
* 鼾(くつち), 癲(くつち), 癲癇(くつち) (kutsuchi): snoring; epilepsy
* 轡(くつばみ), 銜(くつばみ), 勒(くつばみ) (kutsubami): a bit(as for a horse's mouth)
* 口(くつ)巻(まき) (kutsumaki): the winding holding an arrowhead to the shaft of an arrow
* 轡(くつわ), 馬銜(くつわ) (kutsuwa): a bit (as for a horse's mouth)

### Etymology 3

* Alternative spelling
* 朽つ
From Old Japanese. First attested in the Nihon Shoki of 720 CE.

### Pronunciation

* IPA: [kɯ̟t͡sɨ]

### Verb

くつ • (kutsu) $^†$nidan
* 朽つ: Classical Japanese form of くちる (kuchiru)

#### Conjugation

Stem forms :
| Irrealis (未然形) | くち | くち | kuti |
| Continuative (連用形) | くち | くち | kuti |
| Terminal (終止形) | くつ | くつ | kutu |
| Attributive (連体形) | くつる | くつる | kuturu |
| Realis (已然形) | くつれ | くつれ | kuture |
| Imperative (命令形) | くちよ | くちよ | kutiyo |
| Key constructions ||||
| Negative | くちず | くちず | kutizu |
| Contrasting conjunction | くつれど | くつれど | kuturedo |
| Causal conjunction | くつれば | くつれば | kutureba |
| Conditional conjunction | くちば | くちば | kutiba |
| Past tense (firsthand knowledge) | くちき | くちき | kutiki |
| Past tense (secondhand knowledge) | くちけり | くちけり | kutikeri |
| Perfect tense (conscious action) | くちつ | くちつ | kutitu |
| Perfect tense (natural event) | くちぬ | くちぬ | kutinu |
| Perfect-continuative tense | くちたり | くちたり | kutitari |
| Volitional | くちむ | くちむ | kutimu |

### Etymology 4

* For pronunciation and definitions of くつ – see the following entries: 倔, 屈
(The following entries do not have a page created for them yet: 倔, 屈.)

### 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
* ↑ “くつ”, in 語源由来辞典 (Gogen Yurai Jiten, “Etymology Derivation Dictionary”) (in Japanese), 2003–2025.
* ↑ 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
* ↑ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ Kindaichi, Kyōsuke et al., editors (1997), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Fifth edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
* ↑ “朽”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006