Chinese

Verb

直筆

1. (literary) to record something in an honest and straightforward manner, without embellishment or omission

Antonyms

• 曲筆／曲笔

Japanese

Etymology 1

• /dikipitu/ → /dikifitu/ → /d͡ʑikihit͡su/

From Middle Chinese compound 直筆 ‎(drik pit, literally “straight, direct + writing”). Compare modern Mandarin 直筆／直笔 (zhíbǐ, “an honest story, a straightforward account of something”).

This reading uses the goon of jiki for the first character and the kan'on of hitsu for the second character, possibly suggesting an innovation in the reading within Japanese after the initial borrowing.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) じきひつ [jìkíhítsú] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [d͡ʑikʲiçit͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

直筆 ‎(hiragana じきひつ, romaji jikihitsu, historical hiragana ぢきひつ)

1. the act of writing something oneself by hand
2. the resulting handwritten document or writing:
   1. one's own handwriting
   2. a holograph, an autograph (something written by oneself, not just one's signature)

Synonyms

• 自筆 (じひつ) ‎(jihitsu)
• 直書 (じきしょ) ‎(jikisho)
• 親書 (しんしょ) ‎(shinsho)

Verb

直筆する ‎(hiragana じきひつする, romaji jikihitsu suru, historical hiragana ぢきひつする)

1. to write something oneself by hand

Conjugation

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese compound 直筆 ‎(drik pit, literally “straight, direct + writing”). Compare modern Mandarin 直筆／直笔 (zhíbǐ, “an honest story, a straightforward account of something”).

This reading uses the kan'on for both characters, suggesting either a later borrowing of the term as a whole, or a shift in reading influenced by other later borrowings.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) ちょくひつ [chòkúhítsú] (Heiban - [0])^[1]
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕo̞kɯᵝçit͡sɯᵝ]

Noun

直筆 ‎(hiragana ちょくひつ, romaji chokuhitsu)

1. an honest and straightforward record of something, without embellishment or omission
2. holding a brush vertically when writing to use the tip of the brush
3. the act of writing something oneself by hand
4. the resulting handwritten document or writing:
   1. one's own handwriting
   2. a holograph, an autograph (something written by oneself, not just one's signature)

Usage notes

For the writing oneself senses, this reading appears to be less common than jikihitsu above.

Antonyms

• (honest record): 曲筆 (きょくひつ) ‎(kyokuhitsu): an embellished story, a tall tale
• (vertical brush): 側筆 (そくひつ) ‎(sokuhitsu): holding a brush at an angle to use the body of the brush

Verb

直筆する ‎(hiragana ちょくひつする, romaji chokuhitsu suru)

1. to record something in an honest and straightforward manner, without embellishment or omission
2. to hold a brush vertically when writing to use the tip of the brush
3. to write something oneself by hand

Usage notes

For the write oneself sense, this reading appears to be less common than jikihitsu above.

Conjugation

Antonyms

• (honest record): 曲筆 (きょくひつ) ‎(kyokuhitsu): to write an embellished story, to write a tall tale
• (vertical brush): 側筆 (そくひつ) ‎(sokuhitsu): to hold a brush at an angle to use the body of the brush

References

1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9