One of the sources of pronunciation of Japanese kanji
Kan-on or kan'on (漢音, Japanese pronunciation:[kaꜜɰ̃.oɴ] or [kaɰ̃.oɴ], "Han sound") are Japanese kanji readings borrowed from Chinese during the Tang dynasty, from the 7th to the 9th centuries; a period which corresponds to the Japanese Nara period. They were introduced by, among others, envoys from Japanese missions to Tang China. Kan-on should not be confused with tō-on (唐音, Tang sound), which were later phonetic loans.
Kan-on are on'yomi (音読み) based on the central Chang'an pronunciation of Middle Chinese.[1] The syllable Kan is a reading of Middle Chinese: 漢 (xanH) as per Japanese phonology, referring to the Han dynasty, which had Chang'an as its capital city.[1] Furthermore, Kan (漢) has also become a description for all things Chinese, e.g., kanji ('Chinese characters').
Kan'on partly displaced the earlier go-on, which were "just imitations of Korean imitations, but Kan-on were imitations of the real thing."[1]
A minority of characters never had their kan-on transmitted to Japan; their kan-on are sometimes reconstructed in Japanese dictionaries although not specifically marked as such. A few dictionaries go as far as to discard attested kan-on in favour of more systematic pronunciations.[1]
Characteristics as compared to go-on
In consonants
type
unvoiced / voiced
voiced / nasal
zi- / ni- or zy- / ny-
example
神
大
土
地
分
仏
男
女
万
美
無
二児
人刃
日
如
若
Kan-on
ɕin
tai
to
tɕi
fun
futsu
dan
dʑo
ban
bi
bu
dʑi
dʑin
dʑitsu
dʑo
dʑaku
Go-on
dʑin
dai
do
dʑi
bun
butsu
nan
njo
man
mi
mu
ni
nin
nitɕi
njo
njaku
notes
d- / n-
b- / m-
Mandarin r-, er
In vowels
type
* / -e
-ei / -ai
* / -u
examples
衣
気
戯
愛
解
会絵
快怪
外
仮家
下夏
化
花
西斉
体帝
米
礼
素
図
怒
公工口
豆頭
右有
九久
留
Kan-on
i
ki
gi
ai
kai
くゎい kwai
ぐゎいgwai
ka
くゎkwa
sē
tē
bē
rē
so
to
do
kō
tō
iu
kiu
riu
Go-on
e
ke
ge
e
ge
ue/we
ke
ge
ke
ge
ke
sai
tai
mai
rai
su
zu
nu
ku
zu
u
ku
ru
Notes
Mandarin -i
Type
-i- / -o-
-e- / -o-
-a- / -o-
-a- / -ya-
-yoku / -iki
Examples
音隠
今金
品
乙
乞
遠園
建
言厳
越
叛
発
行
客
白
色拭
食
直
力
Kan-on
in
kin
hin
itsu
kitsu
uen/wen
ken
gen
uetsu/wetsu
han
hatsu
kau
kaku
haku
ɕoku
tɕoku
rjoku
Go-on
on
kon
hon
otsu
kotsu
won/on
kon
gon
otɕi/wotɕi
hon
hotsu
gjō
kjaku
bjaku
ɕiki
dʑiki
dʑiki
riki
Notes
Type
-e- / -ya-
others
Examples
京経
形
正生性声省精
成静
丁挺
定
兵
平病
名命明
霊
役
石赤
寂
暦
牛
月
殺
文聞
Kan-on
kē
sē
tē
hē
mē
rē
eki
seki
reki
giu
getsu
satsu
bun
Go-on
kjō
gjō
ɕō
dʑō
tɕō
dʑō
hjō
bjō
mjō
rjō
jaku
ɕaku
dʑaku
rjaku
gu
gwatsu
setsu
mon
Notes
Mandarin -ing zheng, cheng, sheng
See also
On'yomi: Sino-Japanese readings
Go-on: an earlier type of reading
Tō-on: a later type of reading
Checked tone
References
^ abcdMiyake, Marc Hideo (2003). Old Japanese: A Phonetic Reconstruction. Routledge. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-134-40373-8.