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This site will be taken down March 31st, 2026.

This was not an easy decision to make. For the last couple years, I have been struggling to find motivation for this site and to keep up with basic maintenance and security updates. With the rise of AI and more sophisticated tools, the usefulness of sites like this is questionable and traffic has nose-dived. I just don't have it in me to keep doing this. Thank you all for 10 years of support!

Zach

書き言葉

Reading

Kana: かきことば
Romaji: kakikotoba
Kana
Romaji

Definition

noun
1

written word; written language

(Linguistics terminology)
See also: 話し言葉

Kanji

書
Readings: ショ、 か.く、 -が.き、 -がき
Meaning: write
言
Readings: ゲン、 ゴン、 い.う、 こと
Meanings: say, word
葉
Readings: ヨウ、 は
Meanings: leaf, plane, lobe, needle, blade, spear, counter for flat things, fragment, piece

Example Sentence

スペイン語(ご)の書(か)き言葉(ことば)は、ほんのいくらかわかるが、スペイン語(ご)の話(はなことば)し言葉()ときたら、ちんぷんかんぷんだ。
➥I can understand written Spanish just a little but spoken Spanish is Greek to me.
Full Entry➤