書き下し文

• Reading: かきくだしぶん
• Romaji: kakikudashibun
• Kanji breakdown: 書 (sho/ka) — write; 下 (ka/kuda) — bring down; 文 (bun/mon) — text, sentence
• Pronunciation: /ka.ki.kɯ.da.ɕi.bɯn/

Meaning

Transcription of kanbun into Japanese word order; a Japanese rendering of a classical Chinese text using reordering marks and phonetic glosses.

When Japanese scholars read kanbun (classical Chinese texts), they used a system of marks (訓点) to reorder the Chinese into Japanese syntax and add readings. The resulting Japanese text is called 書き下し文. This conversion skill is taught in Japanese high school classical literature courses and tested in university entrance examinations.

Examples

1. 漢文の授業では書き下し文の書き方を学んだ。 In kanbun class, we learned how to write kanbun renderings in Japanese word order.
2. この漢詩を書き下し文に直して意味を確認した。 I converted this Chinese poem into a Japanese rendering to check its meaning.
3. 書き下し文にすることで、古典中国語の構造が見えてくる。 By converting texts into Japanese renderings, the structure of classical Chinese becomes visible.

Usage Guide

Context: classical education, literary studies, entrance exams

Tone: academic

Origin & History

From 書き (writing) + 下し (bringing down, rendering) + 文 (text, sentence). Describes the act of converting a Chinese text 'down' into readable Japanese form.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: Students

Social background: Educated