Nuance, usage and etymology of お[出]{い}で


I observed in drama and anime (being outside Japan, those are my only ways of
keeping in touch with spoken 日本語) that elder people sometimes say お出で to
younger people when they want to say something like "Come here". But there are
a few things I think are strange with that word/phrase:

  1. The word seems to originate from お出でになる which is お + verb stem + になる humble form, which from the kanji used means that お出でになる is the humble form of 出る, I think. So, does that mean that if a person says お出で to another person, the first person is using a humble form upon the second person, which seems to be rude? Is the humbleness nuance within お出でになる still retained in お出で?

  2. Since the pronunciation of お出で is お - い - で, does that mean the 出 kanji is pronounced as い? Why isn't the お + verb stem + になる of 出る simply お出になる? Is this another ateji?




Boaz already gave a nice explanation of the meaning of おいで. Here is why おいで is
written as お出で in kanji (although in many cases it is written in hiragana).

In Classical Japanese, there is a verb
[[出]{い}づ](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%87%BA%E3%81%A5&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&index=100935700000&pagenum=1)
which means to go outside of some place or to appear. The conjugation type of
this verb is 下二段活用, and it would have become [出]{い}でる in the modern Japanese
if it had followed the regular pattern, in the same way as [投]{な}ぐ became
[投]{な}げる. お[出]{い}で is the [連用形]{れんようけい} form of 出でる with the prefix お, and
therefore written as it is.

Therefore, 出でる and お出で just follow the usual pattern, and the irregularity
lies in the verb [出]{で}る! Somehow the い at the beginning of いでる was dropped in
the modern Japanese, and the verb became でる except in certain constructs such
as お出で. We write でる as 出る because a kanji must replace at least one kana.

The [命令形]{めいれいけい} (command form) of 出づ in Classical Japanese (and of the
hypothetical 出でる in Modern Japanese) is 出でよ, and it is sometimes seen in a
slogan or a fictional work, where archaic form (associated with dignity) is
needed. I remember that it was used in an anime [Dragon
Ball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball): a character says
“[出]{い}でよ、[[神龍]{シェンロン}](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A5%9E%E9%BE%8D_%28%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%29#.E7.A5.9E.E9.BE.8D.EF.BC.88.E3.82.B7.E3.82.A7.E3.83.B3.E3.83.AD.E3.83.B3.EF.BC.89)!”
to invoke [Shenlong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenlong) (who grants a wish
in this anime).




Boaz already gave a nice explanation of the meaning of おいで. Here is why おいで is
written as お出で in kanji (although in many cases it is written in hiragana).

In Classical Japanese, there is a verb
[[出]{い}づ](http://dic.yahoo.co.jp/dsearch?enc=UTF-8&p=%E5%87%BA%E3%81%A5&dtype=0&dname=0ss&stype=0&index=100935700000&pagenum=1)
which means to go outside of some place or to appear. The conjugation type of
this verb is 下二段活用, and it would have become [出]{い}でる in the modern Japanese
if it had followed the regular pattern, in the same way as [投]{な}ぐ became
[投]{な}げる. お[出]{い}で is the [連用形]{れんようけい} form of 出でる with the prefix お, and
therefore written as it is.

Therefore, 出でる and お出で just follow the usual pattern, and the irregularity
lies in the verb [出]{で}る! Somehow the い at the beginning of いでる was dropped in
the modern Japanese, and the verb became でる except in certain constructs such
as お出で. We write でる as 出る because a kanji must replace at least one kana.

The [命令形]{めいれいけい} (command form) of 出づ in Classical Japanese (and of the
hypothetical 出でる in Modern Japanese) is 出でよ, and it is sometimes seen in a
slogan or a fictional work, where archaic form (associated with dignity) is
needed. I remember that it was used in an anime [Dragon
Ball](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Ball): a character says
“[出]{い}でよ、[[神龍]{シェンロン}](http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%A5%9E%E9%BE%8D_%28%E3%83%89%E3%83%A9%E3%82%B4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%9C%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AB%29#.E7.A5.9E.E9.BE.8D.EF.BC.88.E3.82.B7.E3.82.A7.E3.83.B3.E3.83.AD.E3.83.B3.EF.BC.89)!”
to invoke [Shenlong](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenlong) (who grants a wish
in this anime).

