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

1.2.8. Can a word have mixed and 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 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 (湯桶), "hot water bucket", the reading of 湯 is a , but the reading of 桶 is an .
juubako yomi (重箱読み)
In the word (重箱), "nested boxes", the reading of 重 is an , but the (from ) reading of 箱 is a .

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

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