Japanese

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) てんが​じゅう [tèńgáꜜjùù] (Nakadaka - [3])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [tẽ̞ŋɡ̃a̠d͡ʑɯᵝː]

Noun

天鵞絨 ‎(hiragana てんがじゅう, romaji tengajū)

1. (rare, archaic) velvet

Usage notes

The kanji spelling and on'yomi of tengajū are not used much in modern Japanese, and have been superseded by the borrowed term ビロード.

Etymology 2

From Portuguese veludo ‎(“velvet”)^[2][1]. The term was borrowed when Portuguese traders and missionaries first introduced velvet to Japan in the 1500s.

Pronunciation

• (Irregular reading)
• (Tokyo) ビロード [bìróódó] (Heiban - [0])^[1][3]
• IPA^(key): [biɺ̠o̞ːdo̞]

Alternative forms

• ビロード (more common spelling)

Noun

天鵞絨 ‎(katakana ビロード, romaji birōdo)

1. Alternative spelling of ビロード: velvet

Usage notes

The katakana spelling ビロード is more common for this term.

References

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