sci.lang.japan FAQ / 1. Writing / 1.2. Kanji (漢字)

1.2.8. Can a word have mixed on and kun readings?

A "yutou".

In Japanese, words often have readings which are made by combining an on'yomi (音読み), or Sino-Japanese reading, and a kun'yomi (訓読み), or native Japanese reading. See 1.2.7. Why do kanji have several different pronunciations? These kinds of readings are named after examples of the words themselves:

yutou yomi (湯桶読み): In the word yutou (湯桶), "hot water bucket", the yu reading of 湯 is a kun'yomi, but the tou reading of 桶 is an on'yomi.
juubako yomi (重箱読み): In the word juubako (重箱), "nested boxes", the juu reading of 重 is an on'yomi, but the bako (from hako) reading of 箱 is a kun'yomi.

sci.lang.japan FAQ / 1. Writing / 1.2. Kanji (漢字)

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