Irregular Kanji Readings


Question about all the irregular readings of kanji that seem to pop up
plentiful in kanji dictionaries. Take for example the kanji 丞. According to
the entry on
[kanji.jitenon](https://kanji.jitenon.jp/kanjif/2551.html?getdata=4e1e&search=contain&how=%E3%81%99%E3%81%B9%E3%81%A6),
this kanji has following readings:

> ショウ、ジョウ  
>  **たす（ける）**

In what instance would 丞ける ever be used? I can't find any concrete examples.

or 奄:

> エン  
>  おお（う）、たちま（ち）、 **ふさ（がる）**

奄がる yields zero examples on Google.

or 柑:

> カン  
>  **こうじ、みかん**

As far as I'm aware こうじ is written 柑子 and みかん is written 蜜柑, not just 柑 on its
own.

What is the purpose of these obscure readings? The only thing I could think of
is actual names of persons e.g. 亨 may be read as とおる but is the spelling 亨る
for the actual verb ever actually used? Can anybody shed some light on this?




> What is the purpose of these obscure readings?

It is a question that would lead to the entire
[Begriffsgeschichte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_history) of
kun'yomi, but in a quick understanding, those kun readings are a different
notion from those in discussion of Japanese orthography.

Kanji dictionaries are conceptually a form of Chinese-Japanese dictionary.
Thus as [what I wrote in another
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/32284),

> Technically, kanji were foreign notions in Japanese; _on'yomi_ was the
> **pronunciation** , and _kun'yomi_ was its **definition** in Japanese

in the context of those dictionaries. The readings are intended to be at best
Japanese glosses, not that you are recommended to substitute the kanji for an
ordinal word or phrase of Japanese. They can even contain on'yomi words as in
your こうじ or みかん. 字訓 of 大漢和辞典 (which sometimes are hilariously long) are [a
periodically viral internet
meme](https://dailyportalz.jp/b/cs/buzzly/article/160330196034/1.htm) (cf. [a
Miku song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjm-vUPfTf4)).

Quite a few of those are indeed used in the [kanbun
kundoku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanbun) practice i.e. word-by-word
translation of Classical Chinese into Japanese. Still, not many of them are
employed when you spontaneously write a Japanese text.

> 掌丞天子、助理萬機（漢書・百官公卿表）  
>  天子【てんし】を丞【たす】け、萬機【ばんき】を助理【じょり】するを掌【つかさど】る




> What is the purpose of these obscure readings?

It is a question that would lead to the entire
[Begriffsgeschichte](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conceptual_history) of
kun'yomi, but in a quick understanding, those kun readings are a different
notion from those in discussion of Japanese orthography.

Kanji dictionaries are conceptually a form of Chinese-Japanese dictionary.
Thus as [what I wrote in another
answer](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/a/32284),

> Technically, kanji were foreign notions in Japanese; _on'yomi_ was the
> **pronunciation** , and _kun'yomi_ was its **definition** in Japanese

in the context of those dictionaries. The readings are intended to be at best
Japanese glosses, not that you are recommended to substitute the kanji for an
ordinal word or phrase of Japanese. They can even contain on'yomi words as in
your こうじ or みかん. 字訓 of 大漢和辞典 (which sometimes are hilariously long) are [a
periodically viral internet
meme](https://dailyportalz.jp/b/cs/buzzly/article/160330196034/1.htm) (cf. [a
Miku song](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjm-vUPfTf4)).

Quite a few of those are indeed used in the [kanbun
kundoku](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kanbun) practice i.e. word-by-word
translation of Classical Chinese into Japanese. Still, not many of them are
employed when you spontaneously write a Japanese text.

> 掌丞天子、助理萬機（漢書・百官公卿表）  
>  天子【てんし】を丞【たす】け、萬機【ばんき】を助理【じょり】するを掌【つかさど】る

