Is the ''yoi'' meaning ''ready'' when doing karate the same as the ''yoi'' which means nice/good?


When doing karate years ago the sensei would use the word ''yoi'' to instruct
the students to take a ready/prepared stance.

I didn't speak any Japanese then but I remember the word.

Now I'm learning Japanese and I've come across the word ''yoi'' which means
good/nice.

Are these two meanings for the same word or are they just homonyms?




They are different words. They are not only different in kanji/kana but also
very **different in pronunciation**.

  * [良い](https://jisho.org/word/%E8%89%AF%E3%81%84) = よい = good, nice
  * [用意](https://jisho.org/word/%E7%94%A8%E6%84%8F) = ようい = preparation, readiness

That is, 用意 has an elongated vowel, which is a distinguishing feature in the
Japanese language. For details, see [long-vowels](/questions/tagged/long-
vowels "show questions tagged 'long-vowels'") tag and this question: [Are
there many occurances of elongated syllables throughout the
language?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/65027/5010)




They are different words. They are not only different in kanji/kana but also
very **different in pronunciation**.

  * [良い](https://jisho.org/word/%E8%89%AF%E3%81%84) = よい = good, nice
  * [用意](https://jisho.org/word/%E7%94%A8%E6%84%8F) = ようい = preparation, readiness

That is, 用意 has an elongated vowel, which is a distinguishing feature in the
Japanese language. For details, see [long-vowels](/questions/tagged/long-
vowels "show questions tagged 'long-vowels'") tag and this question: [Are
there many occurances of elongated syllables throughout the
language?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/65027/5010)

