why kuruma?

[okaeri_man]

i was thinking to myself last night why the japanese use their own word kuruma for car (and also jidousha to a lesser extent), and why they didn't borrow kaa from english, like they did for motobike, bus, truck, etc.

any theroies and actual reasons welcome!

 

[Elizabeth]

I suppose the main reason, besides the pronunciation strain of having to say 'kaa' several times a day in Japanese, would be that car is generally taken as the modern equivilant of a two-wheeled, horse-drawn or carried carriage/buggy (chariot) originally represented by that kanji.

 

[orochi]

I agree with Elizabeth and it should also be noted that "kaa" is also used in examples such as マイカー, or "my car," a car belonging to yourself for personal use.

 

[okaeri_man]

...car is generally taken as the modern equivilant of a two-wheeled, horse-drawn or carried carriage/buggy (chariot) originally represented by that kanji.

but that implies a two-wheeled chariot thingy is also called a kuruma, no?

 

[Elizabeth]

but that implies a two-wheeled chariot thingy is also called a kuruma, no?

Kuruma was always a general word for vehicle, although maybe norimono is more common today, yes found even in compounds for certain types of chariots and carriages.

 

[GaijinPunch]

Try taking a Japanese drivers test. It's very confusing on this point. The English one obviously doesn't bother you with it, but the Japanese one says "which of the following isn't a car" of which you get some strange examples... at least in my study book.

 

[Hanzou]

Kuruma

Kuruma was always a general word for vehicle, although maybe norimono is more common today, yes found even in compounds for certain types of chariots and carriages.

The original meaning of KURUMA is wheel.
That's why KURUMA means vehicles except space vehicles .
NORIMONO are all vehicles include ships and air planes .

 

[BrennaCeDria]

Well, in English "car" I've always assumed was shortened from "carriage" (sp) so it makes sense that the Japanese "kuruma" would evolve from a usage meaning carriage to one meaning car.

 

[faith]

kuruma

kuruma means wheel
like kuruma ebi is prawn
ko ebi is shrimp!

 

[zviagam]

When a language goes in one direction and not the other is hard to tell. Things some time happen without reason, sometime perhaps only seemingly so. Interestingly, though, kuruma means also wheels, which is also a way to say car in English as in: "We have to hire some wheels for tomorrow, Jess, or will never get there in time," where jidousha (self moving wheels -implying no need for a horse) is very much like the English automobile.

 

[lexico]

Interestingly, though, kuruma means also wheels, which is also a way to say car in English as in: "We have to hire some wheels for tomorrow, Jess, or will never get there in time," where jidousha (self moving wheels -implying no need for a horse) is very much like the English automobile.

Wonderful comparison btwn English and Japanese, btwn Latinate and Kanjino. The parallels deserve their place in a text book of Japanese.
If you happen to have more of these, please share them with us!

 

[Pavledin]

i was thinking to myself last night why the japanese use their own word kuruma for car (and also jidousha to a lesser extent), and why they didn't borrow kaa from english, like they did for motobike, bus, truck, etc.

any theroies and actual reasons welcome!

I was always wondering about this, and was pondering the resemblance to the word "uma" for horse, I always found that link really interesting

 

[lanthas]

Congratulations on resurrecting a decade old thread.

カー is, in fact, an existing loanword in Japanese - it's just not used as often. And why should it? Just look at other languages that don't have this loanword at all: Dutch "voertuig", German "Fahrzeug", French "voiture" and so on. The French even have their own word for "computer" (ordinateur), where (most?) other languages, including Japanese, use a loanword.

Don't assume that there's a link between words just because they sound somewhat similar. This is especially true for Japanese which is exceptionally rich in homonyms.

 

[Pavledin]

Congratulations on resurrecting a decade old thread.

カー is, in fact, an existing loanword in Japanese - it's just not used as often. And why should it? Just look at other languages that don't have this loanword at all: Dutch "voertuig", German "Fahrzeug", French "voiture" and so on. The French even have their own word for "computer" (ordinateur), where (most?) other languages, including Japanese, use a loanword.

Don't assume that there's a link between words just because they sound somewhat similar. This is especially true for Japanese which is exceptionally rich in homonyms.

Of course, I meant no harm, my knowledge of Japanese is very limited (in itself an overstatment), but I am indeed a great enthusiast when it comes to the Japanese language and culture. You must therefore understand my rush to the conclusion that the words I've learnt for "car" and "horse", despite being similar in relation to the object of their representation (a means of transport which evolved from an animal to a machine), are similar in terms of vocalisation and roman transcription as well. I romanticised this notion, and aparently made an error in conclusion, but thank you for clearing that up for me. My native language is also one that has phonetic writing, therefore adding to my belief that those words are connected in an evolutionary kind of way.

 

[Toritoribe]

As already pointed out, please make a new thread next time instead of necroposting.

VI. Duplicate posts, bumping and necroposting
Do not post to threads that have not been updated for many years, unless your post is relevant to this particular thread. Rather start a new thread and link to the old thread you want to refer to.

Forum Rules | Japan Forum

"Kuruma" is derived from "kuru" + "ma". "Kuru" is originally from an onomatopoeia of "something rotates/revolves/spins", and "ma" is an euphonic change of "wa", i.e., ring. Thus, it means "rotating ring". On the other hand, "uma" is derived from "ma", the pronunciation of the word "horse" in an old Chinese region. There is no relation at all between those words. Their pronunciations are just coincidentally partially close in the end.
"Kuruma" refers to the most common vehicle in the era, therefore it meant "gissha" ox-drawn carriage in Heian /kamakura/Muromachi period , and "jinrikisha" rickshaw in Meiji/Taishō period. It has nothing to do with horse, anyway.

 

[Pavledin]

As already pointed out, please make a new thread next time instead of necroposting.

Forum Rules | Japan Forum

"Kuruma" is derived from "kuru" + "ma". "Kuru" is originally from an onomatopoeia of "something rotates/revolves/spins", and "ma" is an euphonic change of "wa", i.e., ring. Thus, it means "rotating ring". On the other hand, "uma" is derived from "ma", the pronunciation of the word "horse" in an old Chinese region. There is no relation at all between those words. Their pronunciations are just coincidentally partially close in the end.
"Kuruma" refers to the most common vehicle in the era, therefore it meant "gissha" ox-drawn carriage in Heian/kamakura/Muromachi period, and "jinrikisha" rickshaw in Meiji/Taishō period. It has nothing to do with horse, anyway.

I'm sorry, I'm new to forums, thank you for the info anyway, best regards!

 

[Majestic]

Maybe there is a historical reason also, as words such as horseless carriage, automobile and motor car were all in use and had popularity at various times in various locations before "car" came into standard US usage. It's not surprising that カー didn't emerge as the default standard in Japanese, although as Lanthas says, it is in wide use today in terms such as マイカー, レンタカー, etc..