醜女

See also: 丑女

Chinese

shameful; ugly; disgraceful female; woman; daughter
trad. (醜女)
simp. (丑女)

Pronunciation


Noun

醜女

  1. ugly woman

Synonyms

Derived terms

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term

Grade: S
おんな
Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (bu, ugly) +‎ (onna, woman).[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) んな [bùóꜜǹnà] (Nakadaka – [2])[2]
  • IPA(key): [bɯ̟õ̞nːa̠]

Noun

()(おんな) • (buonnaぶをんな (bwonna)?

  1. an ugly woman
Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms
  • 醜女(しこめ) (shikome) (see below)
  • 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see below)
  • 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
  • ぶす (busu)
  • おかちめんこ (okachimenko)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
しこ
Grade: S

Grade: 1
kun'yomi

Compound of (shiko, ugly; ferocious) +‎ (me, woman).[1][2]

Pronunciation

  • (Tokyo) こめ [shìkómé] (Heiban – [0])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ɕiko̞me̞]

Noun

(しこ)() • (shikome

  1. an ugly demon-woman or hag from the underworld
    • 938, Minamoto no Shitagō, Wamyō Ruijushō, volume 1, pages 44-45:
      醜女 日本紀私紀云、醜女、志古女、或説黄泉之鬼也、今世人爲恐小兒稱許々女者此語之訛也。
      Hags The Nihongi Private Records call them hags, Japanese shikome, certain legends say they're demons of Yomi, nowadays people become afraid of small children calling them such women, this term is dialectic.
  2. an ugly woman
Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms

(ugly woman):

  • 醜女(ぶおんな) (buonna) (see above)
  • 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see below)
  • 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
  • ぶす (busu)
  • おかちめんこ (okachimenko)
See also

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
しゅう
Grade: S
じょ
Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 醜女 / 丑女 (tsyhuwX nrjoX, literally ugly + woman). Compare modern Mandarin reading chǒu nǚ.

Pronunciation

Noun

(しゅう)(じょ) • (shūjoしうぢよ (siudyo)?

  1. an ugly woman
Usage notes

For the generic “ugly woman” sense, the buonna reading may be more common. The shikome reading carries overtones of supernatural terror, and may be perceived as somewhat old-fashioned. The shūjo reading is the least common, and may be the most stilted; it is also the most negative of the three readings.

Synonyms
  • 醜女(しこめ) (shikome) (see above)
  • 醜女(しゅうじょ) (shūjo) (see above)
  • 醜婦(しゅうふ) (shūfu)
  • ぶす (busu)
  • おかちめんこ (okachimenko)

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典(新装版) [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN