いびつ

Japanese

Etymology

From 飯櫃(いいびつ) (ībitsu, container for cooked rice). Rice containers in Japan had ellipse shapes in the past. Sense "crooked" came from the impression that ellipses are deformed circles.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): [ibʲit͡sɨ]

Adjective

いびつ • (ibitsu-na (adnominal いびつ (ibitsu na), adverbial いびつ (ibitsu ni))

  1. crooked; deformed
  2. abnormal; strange; deviant

Inflection

Noun

いびつ • (ibitsu

  1. (rare) ellipse; oval
    Synonym: 楕円
  2. (rare, dated) coin
    Synonym: 小判