否 (No) - Meaning and history | Japanese Kanji
GokuGoku
2 min reading time
否
Kun readings 🇯🇵
On readings 🇨🇳
The kanji 否 indicates the denial or refusal.
In fact, the kanji 否 by itself means no, and is the symbol for the term いええ (否), which is usually written in hiragana.
In this post we learn more about the meaning of 否, its origin, and how it is used through real example sentences.
Origin of the kanji 否
The kanji 否 is made up of two other very common kanji:
不: kanji used as a prefix to indicate a negation,
non-口: kanji which means
mouth
In a sense we see how the kanji 否 is the "negation of the mouth", not saying or denying something.
What does kanji mean 否
As mentioned the kanji 否 simply means no.
This kanji is not used much on its own, as いええ (否) is almost always written with just hiragana.
The kanji 否 is used instead in combination with other kanji to convey the meaning of refusal and negation.
Kanji readings 否
Let's now see the various On and Kun readings that the kanji 否 assumes.
Kun readings of the kanji 否 🇯🇵
いな
Reading いな is used in two grammatical expressions:
か否か:
whether or notや否や:
the minute (that),not before
いな is also used for the term 否む, which means to refuse.
いや
The reading いや is the same as いええ but more colloquial. For this reason, kanji alone can also be read as 否.
On readings of the kanji 否 🇨🇳
ひ
The reading ひ is the most common for the kanji 否, and is used in combination with other kanji. Some examples are:
否定:
negate(word using the kanji 定)拒否:
reject成否:
result,success or failure
Examples of the kanji 否
彼の答は「否」であった。
His answer was 'no'.
肯定しても否定しても殺される。
Whether I approve or deny I will be killed.
お前は私が言うことを否定するのか？
Do you want to deny what I said?
