On recurring pairs of alternate readings (e.g. せい／しょう for 生, 正, 青, etc.)


When learning to read Japanese one is taught from early on that not only can
characters have both an ON (音) and a KUN (訓) reading, sometimes they can have
_multiple_ of either or both types of readings.

But I have noticed that, when it comes to 音 readings, certain _pairs_ of
alternate readings for the same character tend to recur.

For example, among the characters I'm familiar with, 生, 性, 正, 政, 青, 清, 星, 声,
井, and 省 all have _both_ せい _and_ しょう as 音 readings. (Of course, it is often
the case that one of the two readings is more common than the other one,
sometimes _vastly_ more so.)

A similar story could be told with the characters 名, 明, 命, 冥, and 妙, and the
readings めい and みょう. Or with the characters 京, 兄, 境, 経, and 競, and the
readings けい and きょう.

My guess1 is that such alternate pairs arose either from words imported from
different parts of China, or from different time periods, that gave the same
character two different pronunciations.

What is the "official"/technical name for this phenomenon?

If there is no such name, could someone at least point me a systematic listing
of such recurring alternate pairs of readings?

* * *

1 I have not been able to research the matter, however, because I cannot think
of a good way to Google for this phenomenon.




> My guess is that such alternate pairs arose either from words imported from
> different parts of China, or from different time periods, that gave the same
> character two different pronunciations.

Your observation is correct, and this statement is pretty much the answer.

> What is the "official"/technical name for this phenomenon?

I don't know if there is a word for the differences in 音読み, but there is a
name for each 音読み, and respectively they are 漢音、唐音、吳音, and for some Kanji
there is even a 音読み called 慣用音. These represent the sounds of a Kanji imported
in different time periods and from different parts of China. Henceforth the
different 音読み for a single Kanji. Let's explore the 音読み's of the Kanji 明.
(We'll only discuss 音読み and not 訓読み here)

### 漢音

The 漢音 for 明 is めい, and generally, 漢音 is the most common 音読み for most Kanji.
漢音 is imported during the 7-9 century, and it was during the 唐 dynasty, one of
the most prosperous dynasties of China, and it was during this time the
Japanese brought a LOT of cultural stuff into Japan. Even so, this reading is
called 漢音 and not 唐音. 唐音 is something else.

### 唐音

The 唐音 for 明 is みん. It came during the 宋・元 dynasties, and generally anything
after the 10th century is considered 唐音. 唐音 is the rarest reading among the
three, and not every Kanji has it. Even for 明 which has a 唐音 of みん, I cannot
think of any common word in which 明 is read as みん. For the 明 dynasty, it's
read as みん though. 明朝{みんちょう}

### 吳音

The 吳音 of 明 is, as you have noticed, みょう. 吳音 is actually the oldest of the
all, coming to Japan during the 5-6 century, and is mainly from the southern
part of China. Even today, the Shanghai area is sometimes referred to as 吳 in
Chinese, and the Shanghainese dialect is called 吳語 in Chinese. A lot of
Buddhist words uses 吳音. For example, normally 利益 is read as りえき in daily life,
but in a Buddhist context, you'd read the same word with 吳音, which is りやく.

### 慣用音

This refers the the 音読み that, after gotten into Japan, got corrupted and no
longer resembled any original Chinese readings. We could say these developed
naturally among the Japanese, but since it's a sound corruption of the
original Chinese reading, it's still considered 音読み and not 訓読み. I could not
find a 慣用音 for 明, but if you look up online you'll find 慣用音 for other Kanji's.

### How should I know which one to use?

Sorry, but you just have to know them by rote. Each word has its own history,
got imported from its time and therefore there is no consistent rule to govern
them all. Even for the same word like 利益 there could be more than one
readings, but there is always a reading that's the most prevalent, and most of
the times you'll get it right by using the most common reading you know for
that Kanji.




> My guess is that such alternate pairs arose either from words imported from
> different parts of China, or from different time periods, that gave the same
> character two different pronunciations.

Your observation is correct, and this statement is pretty much the answer.

> What is the "official"/technical name for this phenomenon?

I don't know if there is a word for the differences in 音読み, but there is a
name for each 音読み, and respectively they are 漢音、唐音、吳音, and for some Kanji
there is even a 音読み called 慣用音. These represent the sounds of a Kanji imported
in different time periods and from different parts of China. Henceforth the
different 音読み for a single Kanji. Let's explore the 音読み's of the Kanji 明.
(We'll only discuss 音読み and not 訓読み here)

### 漢音

The 漢音 for 明 is めい, and generally, 漢音 is the most common 音読み for most Kanji.
漢音 is imported during the 7-9 century, and it was during the 唐 dynasty, one of
the most prosperous dynasties of China, and it was during this time the
Japanese brought a LOT of cultural stuff into Japan. Even so, this reading is
called 漢音 and not 唐音. 唐音 is something else.

### 唐音

The 唐音 for 明 is みん. It came during the 宋・元 dynasties, and generally anything
after the 10th century is considered 唐音. 唐音 is the rarest reading among the
three, and not every Kanji has it. Even for 明 which has a 唐音 of みん, I cannot
think of any common word in which 明 is read as みん. For the 明 dynasty, it's
read as みん though. 明朝{みんちょう}

### 吳音

The 吳音 of 明 is, as you have noticed, みょう. 吳音 is actually the oldest of the
all, coming to Japan during the 5-6 century, and is mainly from the southern
part of China. Even today, the Shanghai area is sometimes referred to as 吳 in
Chinese, and the Shanghainese dialect is called 吳語 in Chinese. A lot of
Buddhist words uses 吳音. For example, normally 利益 is read as りえき in daily life,
but in a Buddhist context, you'd read the same word with 吳音, which is りやく.

### 慣用音

This refers the the 音読み that, after gotten into Japan, got corrupted and no
longer resembled any original Chinese readings. We could say these developed
naturally among the Japanese, but since it's a sound corruption of the
original Chinese reading, it's still considered 音読み and not 訓読み. I could not
find a 慣用音 for 明, but if you look up online you'll find 慣用音 for other Kanji's.

### How should I know which one to use?

Sorry, but you just have to know them by rote. Each word has its own history,
got imported from its time and therefore there is no consistent rule to govern
them all. Even for the same word like 利益 there could be more than one
readings, but there is always a reading that's the most prevalent, and most of
the times you'll get it right by using the most common reading you know for
that Kanji.

