Japanese Language

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The "dragon-eared" people: 聾者 (self.japaneselanguage)

submitted 9 months ago by Nihongo to c/[email protected]

2 comments fedilink hide all child comments

聾者（ろうしゃ） looks like 龍（たつ・りゅう / dragon）＋耳（みみ / ear）then 者（しゃ/person）

Etymology-wise, it seems the "dragon" part was added just for the pronunciation, not because of dragons.

It means:

"Deaf person".

That said, 耳の不自由な人（みみのふじゆうなひと / not-free-ear people）・耳が聞こえない人（みみがきこえないひと / ears-can't-hear people）・聴覚障害者（ちょうかくしょうがいしゃ / hearing disabled people） might be more common terms. Deaf people themselves prefer 聾者 - and I can see why! Who wouldn't want to be a dragon eared person? I like the character.

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[–] [email protected] 4 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Leaving the dragon angle to one side, the other options presented are a bit ableist. I don't know if ableism is a consideration in Japanese society.

[–] Nihongo 3 points 9 months ago

a bit ableist Yea, they sound that way to me, too. I'm not sure what Japanese people think.

But, either way I like the character聾!