Chinese

Noun

馬鈴薯

1. potato

Synonyms

Derived terms

Japanese

馬鈴薯 (bareisho): a pile of potatoes.

Etymology

Origin unclear. Attributed to noted Edo-period botanist and scholar of Chinese medicine Ono Ranzan (see Wikipedia:ja:小野蘭山) in the late 1700s. May be from Sinitic 馬鈴薯, or may be a Japanese coinage later borrowed into Chinese.

According to one theory, this word is a compound of 馬鈴 ‎(barei, “horse bell”) +‎ 薯 ‎(sho, “potato”), from the way the potato looks a bit like the bells used in the tack for stage horses.^[1] In another theory, 馬鈴 ‎(barei) is an example of ateji for Malay, since potatoes were introduced to Japan via the Dutch East Indies.

Pronunciation

• On'yomi
• (Tokyo) ばれいしょ [bàrééshó] (Heiban - [0])^[2]
• IPA^(key): [ba̠ɺ̠e̞ːɕo̞]

Noun

馬鈴薯 ‎(hiragana ばれいしょ, romaji bareisho)

1. potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Derived terms

Synonyms

• じゃがいも, ジャガイモ, ジャガ芋, ジャガ薯 (jagaimo)

References

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