Chinese

Noun

人形

1. human shape or appearance
2. doll; puppet

Japanese

人形 (ningyō, hitogata): a doll for Hina matsuri.

Etymology 1

From Middle Chinese compound 人形 ‎(nyin heng, literally “person shape”).

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Goon
• (Tokyo) にんぎょう [nìńgyóó] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [nĩŋɡ̃jo̞ː]

Noun

人形 ‎(hiragana にんぎょう, romaji ningyō, historical hiragana にんぎやう)

1. doll, puppet
2. a picture of someone's appearance
3. a figurative puppet, such as someone who carries out actions for someone else
4. (less common) a tailor's dummy, a mannequin

Usage notes

For the general sense of doll, the ningyō reading appears to be more common.

Derived terms

• 人形家 (にんぎょうか) ‎(ningyōka): a dollmaker

Etymology 2

Compound of 人 ‎(hito, “person”) +‎ 形 ‎(kata, “shape, form”). The kata changes to gata as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) ひとがた [hìtógátá] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [çito̞ɡ̃a̠ta̠]

Alternative forms

• 人像 (less common)

Noun

人形 ‎(hiragana ひとがた, romaji hitogata)

1. a human shape
2. a doll
3. a tailor's dummy, a mannequin
4. a proxy, a representative
5. a person's appearance
6. a description or sketch of a person, as in a wanted poster created by the police

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

• 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Noun

人形 • ‎(inhyeong) ‎(hangeul 인형)

1. Hanja form^? of 인형, “doll, puppet”.