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Definition 2024

脇

脇

See also: 胁 and 脅

Translingual

Alternative forms

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲) : semantic 肉 + phonetic 劦 ‎(OC *ɦleːb).

Han character

脇 (radical 130 肉+6, 10 strokes, cangjie input 月大尸尸 (BKSS), composition ⿰月劦)

  1. ribs, armpits
  2. flank
  3. threaten (archaic usage in Japan)

References

  • KangXi: page 982, character 4
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 29467
  • Dae Jaweon: page 1434, character 8
  • Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 3, page 2073, character 8
  • Unihan data for U+8107

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 脇 – see 脅.
(This character, 脇, is a variant form of 脅.)

Japanese

Kanji

脇

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

Etymology 1

Nominalization of verb 分く ‎(waku, “to split, to divide”), from the 連用形 ‎(ren'yōkei, “stem form”) of waki.[1] Came to refer to the space between where two things split off from each other, and then, by extension, came to refer to the side of something.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

  • 腋 (less common), 掖 (less common)

Noun

脇 ‎(hiragana わき, romaji waki)

  1. (anatomy) the armpit, the underarm
  2. the underarm area of clothing
  3. the side of something (this sense may also be spelled 傍 or 側).
    脇 (わき)から口 (くち)を出 (だ)す
    waki kara kuchi o dasu
    “to put one's mouth in from the side” → to jump into a conversation
    • 2003, 川本三郎 (Saburō Kawamoto), “高層ビルの足元にムラがある (Kōsō Biru no Ashimoto ni Mura ga Aru, “Villages at the Feet of Skyscrapers”)”, in 風の旅人 (Kaze no Tabibito, “Wind Travelers”), volume 5, Tōkyō: Eurasia Travel Co., Ltd., ISSN 9784901919081, retrieved 2013-06-17, page 103:
      大きなビルの脇には、小さな飲食店が並ぶ昔ながらのマーケットのような町が残っている。
      To the side of large buildings, streets remain that are like old-time markets, with rows of small restaurants.
  4. a tangent, such as in a conversation
    話題 (わだい)から脇 (わき)へそれてしまう
    wadai kara waki e sorete shimau
    “to wander away from the topic and off onto a tangent” → to stray off-topic
  5. something in a secondary and supporting role:
    1. in ancient Japan, an assistant to the 春宮坊 ‎(Tōgūbō, rank title; responsible for administering eastern provinces)
    2. in the medieval period, old name for 関脇 ‎(sekiwake, sumō rank)
    3. in 能楽 ‎(nōgaku, “Noh theatre”), the supporting role played alongside the main protagonist
    4. in 浄瑠璃 ‎(jōruri, recitation accompanying a puppet show), the supporting reciter
    5. in 邦楽 ‎(hōgaku, traditional Japanese music), the accompaniment
  6. something of lesser importance, something on the back burner (often used in constructions such as 脇にする (waki ni suru, “to put off to the side”), 脇になる (waki ni naru, “to become off to the side”).)
  7. short for 脇能 (​wakinō): a type of Noh theatre, performed first in a series of performances, wherein a god or spirit prays for a peaceful reign for the emperor
  8. short for 脇句 (​wakiku): the two seven-syllable lines of poetry following the 発句 ‎(hakku, the first three lines of a renga, of 17 syllables and later serving as the haiku form)
  9. short for 脇百姓 (​wakibyakushō): lower-ranking commoners in the Edo period and earlier
  10. somewhere, someone, or something else
Derived terms
Idioms
Synonyms

Etymology 2

Alteration from katahara (片腹, “side of the belly, one's sides”), coming to mean the side of something.

Pronunciation

Alternative forms

Adverb

脇 ‎(hiragana かたわら, romaji katawara, historical hiragana かたはら)

  1. Alternative spelling of 傍ら besides; while

Noun

脇 ‎(hiragana かたわら, romaji katawara, historical hiragana かたはら)

  1. Alternative spelling of 傍ら the side of something; a place nearby; a person nearby; the area alongside something; a remote partially built-up area along a major highway

References

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

Korean

Hanja

脇 • ‎(hyeop) (hangeul 협, revised hyeop, McCune-Reischauer hyŏp, Yale hyep)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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