七夕

Chinese

seven dusk; evening
simp. and trad.
(七夕)		 七 夕

Pronunciation

Proper noun

七夕

  1. (～節) Qixi Festival, the Chinese Valentine's Day, which falls on the seventh day of the seventh lunar month

Derived terms

  • 七夕乞巧
  • 七夕紅／七夕红
  • 七夕錢／七夕钱
  • 七夕鍼

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (七夕):

Japanese

Etymology 1

七夕: Tanabata in Sendai, 2005
Kanji in this term
七 夕
Grade: 1 Grade: 1
Irregular

Origins somewhat obscure.

The latter bata portion is generally accepted to be from 機 (hata, “a loom”). The hata changes to bata due to rendaku (連濁).

The former tana portion may be from 棚 (tana, “a shelf, or a board placed lengthwise in a bridge”), in reference to an ancient ritual whereby a maiden would weave a special cloth on a hata in order to secure a bountiful harvest, as an offering for a god coming across a body of water via a tana. A related theory states that tana is instead an alteration of 種 (tane, “seed”). Yet another theory states that tana is an alteration of 手 (ta, “hand”, unbound Old Japanese form) + な (na, Old Japanese possessive particle superseded by no).[1]

The common spelling of 七夕 is an example of jukujikun, since the festival is held on the seventh night of the seventh month of the lunar calendar, now generally observed on 7 July.

Pronunciation

  • (Irregular reading)

Alternative forms

Noun

七夕 (hiragana たなばた, rōmaji tanabata)

  1. a type of loom (the original meaning)
  2. a type of weaving
  3. by extension, a weaver
  4. (figuratively) any extremely rare visit, or the person so visiting

Proper noun

七夕 (hiragana たなばた, rōmaji Tanabata)

  1. the Tanabata Japanese star festival, observed on 7 July
Synonyms
  • 七夕 (たなばた)祭 (まつ)り (Tanabata matsuri)
  • 星 (ほし)祭 (まつ)り (Hoshi matsuri)
  • 七日 (なぬか)盆 (ぼん) (Nanuka Bon)

See also

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
七 夕
しち
Grade: 1		 せき
Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 七夕 (MC t͡sʰiɪt̚ ziᴇk̚, “lit. seventh evening”). Compare modern Mandarin 七夕.

Pronunciation

Proper noun

七夕 (hiragana しちせき, rōmaji Shichiseki)

  1. the Tanabata Japanese star festival, observed on 7 July
  2. the Chinese Qīxī Festival, also sometimes referred to as the Double Seventh Festival

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
七夕

Noun

七夕 • (chilseok) (hangeul 칠석)

  1. Hanja form? of 칠석 (“Qixi”).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this word
七夕

Noun

七夕

  1. Hán tự form of Thất Tịch, “Qixi”
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