For 氷, why is it こおり and not こうり?
I also noticed the same for 十日
Thanks in advance!!
Because こおり and とおか are native Japanese words not words derived from Chinese-derived on readings. As a general rule, う is used to extend the お syllable in on readings where as お is used for kun readings.
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Oh I see that clears it up really nicely. Thanks!!
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Also, they used to write stuff differently - words with the same pronunciations were written with different kana. Basically think of it as Shakespearean English - spelling wasn’t standardised, so people just made up whatever they wanted.
In 1946, the post-WWII government basically sat down and went “no, this is daft - make everything consistent, already”. So, words that used to be spelt ～あう or ～おふ or ～をふ became ～おう, while words that were spelt ～おほ or ～おを became ～おお. And yeah, を used to be used in words, not just as a particle.
(Also, at the same time, all 二段 verbs became 一段, and all 四段 verbs became 五段. Fun fact. And ゐ and ゑ became obsolete.)
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Interesting
Wow, I didn’t know they standardised a lot of the language relatively recently. Thanks for the insight!
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