1. How Dictionaries Order Words That Start with the Same "ho" Sound: Clear, Voiced, and Semi-Voiced
How do words starting with the same "ho" sound get arranged? The Explanatory Notes (hanrei) of the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten state that headwords are listed in the order of clear sounds, voiced sounds, and semi-voiced sounds. For example, "koutou" comes before "goutou." [1]
A column on the JapanKnowledge website also explains that voiced sounds follow clear sounds, and semi-voiced sounds follow voiced sounds. This is why "hall," "ball," and "pole" appear in that specific order. [2]
You can remember this by thinking: characters with no marks come first, characters with two dots come next, and characters with a circle come last. This helps you find words without getting confused. But what happens when the size of the characters is different?
2. Where Small Characters and Long Vowel Marks Go in Different Dictionaries
Which comes first, "kyaku" or "kiyaku"? The Explanatory Notes of the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten state that smaller characters are placed before larger ones. In this dictionary, small-kana sounds like "kya" come before plain sounds like "kiya," and the small "っ" (the sokuon) also comes before straight sounds. [1]
The long vowel mark "ー" is treated as the same vowel as the character immediately before it. For example, the "ー" in "ball" is treated the same as "o." [1]
However, some other Japanese dictionaries use different rules, such as placing small stop consonants or contracted sounds after "tsu," "ya," "yu," and "yo." The JapanKnowledge column notes that these sorting criteria are practical conventions and differ slightly from dictionary to dictionary. [2]
These rules are not inherent to the Japanese language but are agreements made to make looking up words easier. So, when and why was the "gojuon" table, which forms the basis of these agreements, created?
3. The Gojuon Table Was Not Originally Made for Dictionaries
The oldest surviving gojuon table is one added to the Kujakyo ongi, a text preserved at Daigo-ji temple in Kyoto. It is said to have been created around the beginning of the 11th century. This table was an annotation added to a book kept in a temple. [3]
Its origin is said to be influenced by Siddham, the study of Indian scripts, or it may have been created for fanqie, a method of indicating Chinese character sounds. The sources do not settle which theory is correct. [3]
Moreover, the first table was different from the current one. The rows and columns were arranged differently, such as "ki ko ka ke ku" and "shi so sa se su." The current form was organized according to the order of Siddham letters and appears from the Kamakura period, but it was not unified even then. [3]
Thus, the gojuon table is not explained as having been created specifically for dictionary sorting from the start. So, when was the first dictionary created that used this table to arrange words?
4. The Onkochishinsho of 1484: A Dictionary Already Using Gojuon Order
The first dictionary to arrange words using the gojuon order is the Onkochishinsho, created in 1484. The Kotobank entry explains that this was the first use of gojuon for word arrangement, but it only became widespread after the Meiji period. [3]
However, the sorting method was different from today. First, words were divided into 50 groups based on their initial sound. Then, within each group, words were arranged by semantic categories such as heaven and earth, seasons, and nature. Only the initial sounds used gojuon; the contents were ordered by meaning. [4]
This differs from the modern method where the position is determined by tracing all characters in order. Still, the method of dividing words by initial sound using gojuon had already appeared. So, how were dictionaries arranged before this?
5. How Dictionaries Were Sorted Before Gojuon Order: By Meaning and Iroha Order
Dictionaries from the Heian period arranged words by meaning. The Wamyō Ruijushō, created by Minamoto no Shitagō in the 10th century (around 931–938), is a dictionary arranged by semantic classification. The 10-volume version has 24 parts and 128 categories, while the 20-volume version has 32 parts and 249 categories. [5]
Another sorting method is "iroha order." The iroha poem is a poem using 47 kana without repetition, and it was used for dictionary arrangement until modern times. [7]
The Iroha Jiruishō, created around the 12th century, is considered the oldest Japanese dictionary arranged by iroha. It divides words into 47 sections based on initial sounds, and within each section, words are arranged by 21 semantic categories such as astronomy and geography. [6]
Looking at this, we see that "aiueo order" was not always the norm. Various sorting methods, such as meaning-based and iroha order, were used for a long time. So, when did gojuon order become established?
6. The Genkai Dictionary and How Long Gojuon Order Took to Become Standard
The Genkai, published between 1889 and 1891, was written by Otsuki Fumihiko. It arranged words in gojuon order and included about 39,000 words. It is considered the beginning of the modern Japanese dictionary. [8][9]
It is important to note that Genkai was not the first dictionary to use gojuon order. As we saw, the first use of gojuon for word arrangement was the Onkochishinsho in 1484. [3] It is clearer to understand Genkai as a book that arranged words in gojuon order and showed the form of the modern Japanese dictionary.
Thus, the gojuon order, which appeared once over 500 years ago, became widespread after the Meiji period and is now the form we use casually. On top of this, agreements about voiced sounds and small characters were added differently by each dictionary. [3]
7. How to Check the Sorting Order in Your Own Dictionary's Usage Guide
If you have a Japanese dictionary at home, open the section for "ho" and look for "hall," "ball," and "pole." If those words are not there, you can use other combinations like "ka" and "ga." [1]
Next, open the usage guide or preface at the beginning or end of the book and look for the sorting rules. It may state where small characters or the long vowel mark "ー" are placed. [1]
Comparing two dictionaries, such as one from school and one from home, may reveal differences in the rules. When you find differences, you can see that the agreements to make looking up words easier are being tweaked differently for each dictionary. [2]
If you want to know more about dictionary rules and history, try looking at the JapanKnowledge Japanese column or the Explanatory Notes of the Nihon Kokugo Daijiten. [2][1]