どん底

Japanese
Kanji in this term
底
そこ > ぞこ
Grade: 4
kun’yomi

Etymology

Compound of どん (don-, intensifier, derived from and expressing a greater degree than ど (do)) +‎ 底 (soko, “the bottom of something, the depths of something”).[1][2] The soko changes to zoko as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

    Noun

    どん底(ぞこ) • (donzoko) 

    1. (both literally and figuratively) absolute lowest point, rock bottom, very bottom
    2. very bad situation, catastrophic situation, the abyss
      貧(びん)乏(ぼう)のどん底(ぞこ)
      binbō no donzoko
      extreme poverty, the rock bottom of poverty

    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
    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
    4. 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
    This article is issued from Wiktionary. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.