🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
をぅない : wunai | define meaning
wunai
Pronunciation: [(w)unai]
Definition
Noun
- (From the perspective of a brother) Sister
- うっとぅをぅない
uttu wunai
"Younger sister" - をぅないゐきー
wunai wikii
"Sister and brother"
- うっとぅをぅない
Etymology
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- 効験集 Konkoukenshuu (1711), "Words of the Royal Palace", records "「おめなり」男より姉妹を云 只おなり共".
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo island in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Sister, O'nigh" and "[English] Sister (eldest) [Japanese] Musume ane [Loo-Choo] Oni".
- Essay in Aid of a Grammar and Dictionary of the Luchuan Language (1895), by Basil Hall Chamberlain, records "Wunai, properly a younger sister; but brothers call all their sisters so. (Jap. imōto?)".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kana | をぅない |
| New Okinawa Moji | 歹ない |
| Romanization | wunai |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [(w)unai] |
意味：きょうだい【姉妹】、いもうと【妹】、あね【姉】
Categories:
をぅない
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2026, June 24). をぅない : wunai | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2026, June 30, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/9009/wunai/.