ゴミ箱 ethimology
Does anyone know where "ゴミ" comes from? Since it is in Katakana, it must be a loan word, but it does not ring any bell in English.
posted by harinezumi
Comments 7
Hmm, neither does it for me. I know that the word ごみ means rubbish/trash. But I'm unsure about the katakana origin.
It probably comes from onomatopoeia (word, that "sounds" like concept it describes, like キラキラ for "sparkle") ごみごみ which means "dirty" or "messy".
Like "Мусор"?
Sometimes words are written in katakana (such as in dialogues between characters, esp. in video games) for emphasis. Examples include オレ And アンタ.
It would help if you could fill in the context of where you found that word. Not sure if I'd be much help though.
ゴミ isn't a loan word, it does have kanji 塵. So far as I understand, it's simply because the katakana is easier to read. Another reason I found, is that katakata is often used when people can't remember the kanji.
That's right, I guess kanji's a pain even for japanese! Damn chinese LOL!
In the jisho I use (jisho.org), some words are said to be "usually written in kana alone"... Not all the katakana written words are loan words ;)- All, thank you for your explanations - they really helped.
Medyrius, jisho.org is amazing! I wish I knew about it earlier!
