原書
Meaning in Englishoriginal document
Animated kanji stroke order
Related sentences
Related sentences
There are no published items in this section yet.
Word context
What it means
原書 means the original text or edition of a work, as opposed to translations, revised editions, or later copies. It denotes the primary source material that scholars reference when discussing the original form of a work.
Main meanings
- Original text or manuscript used as the source for a work, especially in scholarly or bibliographic contexts.
- Original edition or publication of a work, before translations, adaptations, or abridgments.
- In library catalogs and academic writing, it marks the unaltered, primary material to be compared with later versions.
How to use it
Used in formal contexts such as academic writing, bibliographies, library catalogs, and editorial notes to indicate the original text or edition of a work. It is typically employed in discussions of textual criticism and scholarly comparisons, contrasting with translations, editions, or abridged versions.
Variants and close terms
- 原典 (げんてん, genten) original source
- 原本 (げんぽん, genpon) original copy or edition
- 原稿 (げんこう, genkō) manuscript
Composition
- 原: origin, source; 書: book, writing; combined meaning the original text that serves as the source material
Etymology
原 has the on'yomi reading gen and conveys origin or source; 書 has on'yomi sho meaning book or writing; when combined as a Sino-Japanese compound they form 原書 (gensho), a noun for the original text.
Word class
Noun (名詞)