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View topic - touki vs hikouk(i当機 Vs* この飛行機)




Postby kokoro505 » Fri 07.15.2011 7:24 am

For the longest time I have been puzzled by this, why on earth does touki (当機) mean "this plane"? why can't you just say kono hikouki? means the same right? Another question i have is why do the Japanese have two ways to say words? for example: Ima=living room リビングルーム= living room as well. Whats the difference?
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Re: touki vs hikouk(i当機 Vs* この飛行機)

Postby Ongakuka » Fri 07.15.2011 10:05 am

The nuance, and the situation in which the word is commonly used. Sometimes it makes no difference which word or phrase you use, and sometimes a certain word will not fit and you have to use another, just like in English. I would suggest that for now, you just take the meaning of words for granted, and in time it will become clear how to use words more effectively.

I think the above point is more important but I'll give a shot at answering your question. 'touki' is a kanji compound and is common for written messages, since it is concise and the meaning jumps out at you, whereas in spoken language 'kono hikouki' might be easier to understand, as there are other words which have the same pronunciation as 'touki.' For the second part, 'living room' in katakana sounds kind of western, whereas 'ima' or 'kyoshitsu' are probably more neutral or 'Japanese' sounding.
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Postby LordOfTheFlies » Fri 07.15.2011 1:01 pm

As for the question why 当機 means this airplane it's because the kanji 当 is often used as a prefix meaning "this/this one" and there are numerous similar words. 当店（this store)、当社(this shrine or this company, also 弊社 for companies)、当校(this school)、当院(this hospital/institution) and so on. Just note that all of these may not be used that often.
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Postby Retsubty » Fri 08.12.2011 6:02 pm

Isn't it a formal compound that a company may used to describe their own airplane?
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