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Definition 2024


百姓

百姓

Chinese

hundred surname; family name; name
simp. and trad.
(百姓)
Literally: “hundred surnames - see 百家姓”.

Noun

百姓

  1. the common people; the masses; ordinary citizens
    Synonyms: 老百姓 (lǎobǎixìng)

Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
ひゃく
Grade: 1
しょう
Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 百姓 (paek sjengH, literally hundred clans). Compare modern Hakka 百姓 (pak-siang).[1]

The goon reading, so likely an earlier borrowing.

Pronunciation

Noun

百姓 (hiragana ひゃくしょう, romaji hyakushō, historical hiragana ひやくしやう)

  1. commoners, the common people; the masses; ordinary citizens
  2. a farmer; a peasant; the peasantry in general
  3. in reference to the Edo period, short for 本百姓 (honbyakushō, the hundred commoner families, a class of farmers with specific rights and responsibilities)
  4. country bumpkin
Synonyms
Idioms
Derived terms

Verb

百姓する (hiragana ひゃくしょうする, romaji hyakushō suru, historical hiragana ひやくしやうする)

  1. to farm, to till the fields
Conjugation

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
はく
Grade: 1
せい
Grade: S
on'yomi

Kan'on reading of both characters, influenced by later borrowing from Middle Chinese.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

百姓 (hiragana はくせい, romaji hakusei)

  1. (rare) See under Etymology 1

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
ひゃく
Grade: 1
せい
Grade: S
on'yomi

Kan'on reading of the second character, influenced by later borrowing from Middle Chinese.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

百姓 (hiragana ひゃくせい, romaji hyakusei, historical hiragana ひやくせい)

  1. (rare) See under Etymology 1

Etymology 4

Non-palatalized variant of hyakushō reading, commonly found in writings from the Heian period through the Muromachi period.[1]

Pronunciation

Noun

百姓 (hiragana ひゃくそう, romaji hyakusō, historical hiragana ひやくさう)

  1. (obsolete) See under Etymology 1

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  2. 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