Chinese

Noun

手紙

1. toilet paper

   我在宿舍裡翻箱倒櫃地找手紙。最後還是不得不跑到隔壁宿舍去了。 [MSC, trad.]

   我在宿舍里翻箱倒柜地找手纸。最后还是不得不跑到隔壁宿舍去了。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ zài sùshè lǐ fānxiāngdǎoguì de zhǎo shǒuzhǐ. Zuìhòu háishì bùdébù pǎodào gébì sùshè qù le. [Pinyin]

   I looked all over the dormitory for some toilet paper. In the end, I was forced to go to the dormitory next door.

Synonyms

• 廁紙／厕纸 (cèzhǐ)
• 衛生紙／卫生纸 (wèishēngzhǐ)

See also

• 面巾紙／面巾纸 (miànjīnzhǐ)
• 紙巾／纸巾 (zhǐjīn)

Japanese

Etymology

Compound of 手 ‎(te, “hand”) +‎ 紙 ‎(kami, “paper”). The kami changes to gami as an instance of rendaku (連濁). .

Many kanji words have the same or similar meanings in Japanese and Chinese. Note, however, the marked difference in meanings for this word.

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) てかみ​ [tèkámíꜜ] (Odaka - [o])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [te̞ka̠mi]

Noun

手紙 ‎(hiragana てがみ, romaji tegami)

1. a letter, an epistle (written message or note)
2. (archaic) utility paper used for various purposes, such as for jotting down notes or for wrapping items

Synonyms

• (utility paper): 半切 (はんき)り紙 (がみ) ‎(hankirigami), 半切紙 (はんきりがみ) ‎(hankirigami)

References

• 2000, Jonathan Bunt, Gillian Hall, The Oxford Starter Japanese Dictionary, First Edition, New York: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198601972

1. ↑ 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