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Definition 2025

公家

公家

Chinese

 
just; honorable (designation); public; common
 
home; family; -ist; -er; -ian; measure word for stores and schools
simp. and trad.
(公家) 		公 家

Adjective

公家

  1. public

Noun

公家

  1. the state
  2. the public
  3. the imperial family

Antonyms

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
公 家
く
Grade: 2 		げ
Grade: 2
on'yomi

Probably originally from Middle Chinese 公家. Compare modern Mandarin 公家 ‎(gōngjiā, “the state, the public”). The meaning in Japanese developed from “great house, great family” to then signify “the imperial family”, then by extension the courtiers, and again the nobility.[1]

The reading is an alteration from the expected go'on reading of kuke.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Noun

公家 ‎(hiragana くげ, romaji kuge)

  1. the imperial court
  2. the emperor and courtiers
  3. the nobility in general

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
公 家
こう
Grade: 2 		か
Grade: 2
on'yomi

The kan'on reading, suggesting a later borrowing. Rarely used.

Pronunciation

Noun

公家 ‎(hiragana こうか, romaji kōka)

  1. (rare) the imperial court
  2. (rare) the emperor and courtiers

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
公 家
こう
Grade: 2 		け
Grade: 2
on'yomi

Mixed reading, using the kan'on for 公 and the go'on for 家. Rarely used.

Pronunciation

Noun

公家 ‎(hiragana こうけ, romaji kōke)

  1. (rare) the imperial court
  2. (rare) the emperor and courtiers

References

  1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
  3. ↑ 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3

Pronunciation

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