Japanese

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) のろい [nòróí] (Heiban - [0])^[2][3]
• (Tokyo) のろ​い [nòróꜜì] (Nakadaka - [2])^[3]
• (Tokyo) のろい​ [nòróíꜜ] (Odaka - [3])^[2][3]
• IPA^(key): [no̞ɺ̠o̞i]

Alternative forms

• 詛い, (rare) 咒い

Noun

呪い ‎(hiragana のろい, romaji noroi, historical hiragana のろひ)

1. a curse (supernatural detriment)
2. a spell (evil magic)

Synonyms

• 呪詛 (じゅそ) ‎(juso)

Etymology 2

The 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “continuative or stem form”) of verb 呪う ‎(majinau, “to use a charm, to use magic”).^[1]

Pronunciation

• Kun'yomi
• (Tokyo) まじない [màjínáí] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• (Tokyo) まじな​い [màjínáꜜì] (Nakadaka - [3])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ma̠d͡ʑĩna̠i]

Alternative forms

• まじない, (rare) 咒い

Noun

呪い ‎(hiragana まじない, romaji majinai, historical hiragana まじなひ)

1. incantation, magic spell
2. deception, manipulation of someone

Usage notes

The kanji spelling 呪い is more commonly read as noroi (“curse”) in modern Japanese. Consequently, the majinai reading is more commonly spelled in kana.

Derived terms

See also

• 魔法 (まほう) ‎(mahō): magic

References

1. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
3. 1 2 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