Knowledge base · Part XXI — Language Contact and the Lexicon · this topic as a network
164. Ainu Loanwords and Toponymy in Japanese
How has the Ainu language influenced Japanese vocabulary and place names?
Overview
What is the source of shared vocabulary between Ainu and Japanese given their language isolate status?
A major focus of historical research on Ainu has been toponymic studies aimed at establishing etymologies for place names in northern Japan. (Majewicz 2022: 4.8) When Hokkaido was colonized by the Japanese, the majority of place names were not replaced with Japanese names but only japanized to the extent of providing ateji. (Refsing 1986)
The toponymic substrate
What Ainu geographic roots appear as final elements in Japanese place names?
Ainu takkop 'field/plain where reeds or grass grow' is attested as a place name in Ainu. (reported in Vovin 2022: 6.5)
The nay ~ pet distinction
What semantic distinction do the Ainu words nay and pet encode?
Both pet and nay 'river' occur as place-name elements in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region of Honshu. (Murasaki 2025: 115, Shibatani 1990: 4) In the Kuril Islands, the place-name element for river is exclusively pet. (Murasaki 2025: 115) The Ainu name of the Shizunai river is Sipetcari. (Refsing 1986: 54)
The locative formatives -us(i) and -oma(i)
What locative meanings do the Ainu formatives -us(i) and -oma(i) express in place names?
The Tōhoku substrate and Vovin's Old Japanese evidence
What evidence do place names in northern Honshu provide for historical Ainu presence?
The northern part of the Tohoku region of Honshu is considered an area where Ainu was spoken in the past, inferred primarily from toponyms without recorded spoken data. (Nakagawa 2024: 77; reported in Refsing 1986: 52) Shuzo Yamada concluded that the dense concentration of Ainu place names extends south to the Akita-Yamagata prefectural border on the Sea of Japan side and north of Sendai on the Pacific side. (reported in Nakagawa 2024: 87) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Akîna reflects Ainu ay-kina 'arrow grass'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Aⁿdikama reflects Ainu anci 'obsidian' plus kama 'flat rock'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese aⁿzu 'crumbling cliff' is likely borrowed from Ainu *-as- 'to split' plus so 'rocky shore'. (proposed in Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Asikaᵑga reflects Ainu askan(-ne) '(be) beautiful' plus kat 'view, appearance'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Asiᵑgara ~ Asiᵑgari reflects Ainu askar-i 'clear place'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese atu- 'sea' is borrowed from Ainu atuy 'sea'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese nominal prefix i- 'thing-' is borrowed from the Ainu prefix i- 'thing-'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese indirect object prefix i- is borrowed from the Ainu applicative prefix e-. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese ka 'top' is borrowed from Ainu ka 'top'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese ka 'voice' is borrowed from Ainu háw 'voice'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese focus particle ka is borrowed from Ainu focus particle ka. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Kakê reflects Ainu ka-kes 'upper end'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Old Japanese place name Kanipa reflects Ainu ka-ne-pa 'upper bank'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Kaⁿdusika reflects Ainu ka-n-toska 'low cliffs that are above'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese kariᵐba 'sakura' is borrowed from Ainu karinpa 'sakura [bark]'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Inasa reflects Ainu inaw-san 'the place where inaw are offered'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Kîᵐbë reflects Ainu kimpe 'bear' (< kim-pe 'mountain thing'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese köⁿdök- 'to bless with words' reflects Ainu ko-itak 'to speak to, to address words to'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Kuⁿzi reflects Ainu kus 'to overflow'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese mak-î 'back-POSS' reflects Ainu mak 'back' plus the third-person possessive suffix -i. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese ma 'wife' reflects Ainu mat 'woman, wife'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese matô 'girl' reflects Ainu mat-po 'girl' (< mat 'woman' + po 'child'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Muⁿza reflects Ainu mun 'unedible grass' plus sa 'shore, plain'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Muⁿzasi reflects Ainu mun 'unedible grass' + sa 'shore, plain' + -hi third-person singular possessive. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese na 'river' reflects Ainu nay 'river'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Nipë reflects Ainu nipet 'wood river' (ni 'tree' + pet 'river'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Nipu reflects the Ainu place name Nipu 'storage in the forest on the riverbank for frozen salmon' (< ni 'tree' + pu 'storage'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese locative prefix o- is borrowed from the Ainu locative prefix o-. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese or-ö 'its place' reflects Ainu or-o 'place-POSS'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese pa 'year' is borrowed from Ainu pa 'year'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese pa 'to find' reflects Ainu pa 'to find'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese paka 'rumor, gossip' reflects Ainu páhaw 'rumor, gossip'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese pîrö 'oak' reflects Ainu pero or pero-ni 'oak'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese pîⁿzi 'sandbank' reflects Ainu pis 'shore' or pis-i 'its shore'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Pîta reflects Ainu pitar 'stone field' (< pit-tar 'pebbles-continue one after another'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Puⁿzi reflects Ainu pun- 'to raise' plus sir 'ground, place, mountain'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Sinanu reflects Ainu sinam (< sir-nam) 'to be cold' plus nup 'mountain field'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese siⁿda 'time, when' reflects Ainu hi 'time, occasion' plus the locative case marker ta. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Sirupa reflects Ainu sirpa 'cape' (sir 'land' + pa 'head'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese sömö 'not' is borrowed from Ainu somo 'not'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese su 'again' reflects Ainu suy 'again'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese suᵑgu 'to grow old' reflects Ainu sukup 'to grow old'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese ta 'here' reflects Ainu ta 'this, here'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Tayupî reflects Ainu tay-yúpe 'dead shark' (tay 'die' + yúpe 'shark'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese teᵑgô 'maiden, beloved' reflects Ainu tek 'hand, arm' plus o 'take in, embrace'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese tôra 'together' is borrowed from Ainu tura 'together'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Töya reflects Ainu to-ya 'lake shore' (to 'lake' + ya 'shore, dry land'). (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Tukupa reflects Ainu tuk 'small mountain' plus pa 'head, top'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Tumu reflects Ainu tum 'middle (of water, land, or grassy area)'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese -y-, an indefinite direct object prefix, reflects the Ainu indefinite object prefix i-. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) Eastern Old Japanese ya 'shore' is borrowed from Ainu ya 'shore, dry land'. (Vovin 2022: 6.2) The Eastern Old Japanese place name Yupuma reflects Ainu *yup(u) 'strong' plus maw 'wind'. (proposed in Vovin 2022: 6.2)
A case study: sikerpe and the Japanese siko-type
What Ainu etymology underlies the Japanese word siko- for the Amur cork tree?
Standard Japanese items attributed to Ainu origin
Which standard Japanese words are claimed to be of Ainu origin and what is their verification status?
A small number of words have been borrowed from Ainu into Japanese, primarily designating the referents, including sake/shake, rakko, and shishamo. (Bugaeva 2012) Japanese todo 'sea lion' is thought to be borrowed from Hokkaido Ainu tonto 'hairless thick hide, tanned leather'. (reported in Shiraishi & Tangiku 2022: 7.3) Modern Japanese iruka 'dolphin' is a loanword from Ainu rika. (proposed in Vovin 2022: 6.1)