🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
くゎふーし【果報し】 : kwafuushi | define meaning
kwafuushi
Pronunciation: [kʷaɸuːɕi]
Definition
Noun, Expression
- An expression of gratitude and appreciation used when speaking to someone younger or of lower status. Thank you; thanks.
Etymology
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Thank you. Ka foóshee" and "Thank you. Ká foóshee".
- Voyage of His Majesty's Ship Alceste: Along the Coast of Corea, to the Island of Lewchew, with an Account of Her Subsequent Shipwreck (1818), by John M'Leod, records "I thank you. Ca-fush".
- Essay in Aid of a Grammmar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "Kafūshi, thank you,—said to inferiors, the formula to equals being ni-fē dēbiru. Also chiū-ya kafūshi, thanks, that will do for to-day; chinū-ya kafūshi, thanks [for the trouble you took] yesterday.—Though believed by the Luchuans to be a true native word, kafūshi looks as if it might be a Chinese phrase beginning with the character 可".
Notes
Variants:
くゎーふし kwaafushi
かーふし kaafushi
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 果報し |
| Kana | くゎふーし |
| New Okinawa Moji | 彩ふーし |
| Romanization | kwafuushi |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [kʷaɸuːɕi] |
意味：（目上から目下へ）ありがとう
Categories:
果報し
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, September 21). くゎふーし【果報し】 : kwafuushi | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, December 5, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/7432/kwafuushi/.