Meaning of 然 in conjunctions and other grammatical words

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Here are a few grammatical words that use 然 according to jisho.org:

• 然し（しかし）
  
  
  • however; but
  
  


• 然して（そして）
  
  
  • and; and then; thus; and now; and finally
  
  


• 然うして（そうして）
  
  
  • and; like that​
  
  


• 然も（しかも）
  
  
  • (1) moreover; furthermore​
  
  
  • (2) nevertheless; and yet​
  
  


• 然も（さも）
  
  
  • (1) really; extremely​
  
  
  • (2) in that way​ (Archaism)
  
  


• 然う（そう）
  
  
  • (1) in that way; thus; such
  
  
  • (2) so (agreement)
  
  
  • (3) so? (doubt)
  
  


• 然るべき（しかるべき）
  
  
  • proper; appropriate; due; suitable
  
  

According to jisho.org, the meanings of 然 are:

sort of thing, so, if so, in that case, well

The relationship between all these different words and 然 is vague and hard to understand. Can you offer a logical analysis of why/how 然 is used in such expressions?

grammar kanji

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

favorite

Here are a few grammatical words that use 然 according to jisho.org:

• 然し（しかし）
  
  
  • however; but
  
  


• 然して（そして）
  
  
  • and; and then; thus; and now; and finally
  
  


• 然うして（そうして）
  
  
  • and; like that​
  
  


• 然も（しかも）
  
  
  • (1) moreover; furthermore​
  
  
  • (2) nevertheless; and yet​
  
  


• 然も（さも）
  
  
  • (1) really; extremely​
  
  
  • (2) in that way​ (Archaism)
  
  


• 然う（そう）
  
  
  • (1) in that way; thus; such
  
  
  • (2) so (agreement)
  
  
  • (3) so? (doubt)
  
  


• 然るべき（しかるべき）
  
  
  • proper; appropriate; due; suitable
  
  

According to jisho.org, the meanings of 然 are:

sort of thing, so, if so, in that case, well

The relationship between all these different words and 然 is vague and hard to understand. Can you offer a logical analysis of why/how 然 is used in such expressions?

grammar kanji

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

add a comment | 

up vote
3
down vote

favorite

up vote
3
down vote

favorite

Here are a few grammatical words that use 然 according to jisho.org:

• 然し（しかし）
  
  
  • however; but
  
  


• 然して（そして）
  
  
  • and; and then; thus; and now; and finally
  
  


• 然うして（そうして）
  
  
  • and; like that​
  
  


• 然も（しかも）
  
  
  • (1) moreover; furthermore​
  
  
  • (2) nevertheless; and yet​
  
  


• 然も（さも）
  
  
  • (1) really; extremely​
  
  
  • (2) in that way​ (Archaism)
  
  


• 然う（そう）
  
  
  • (1) in that way; thus; such
  
  
  • (2) so (agreement)
  
  
  • (3) so? (doubt)
  
  


• 然るべき（しかるべき）
  
  
  • proper; appropriate; due; suitable
  
  

According to jisho.org, the meanings of 然 are:

sort of thing, so, if so, in that case, well

The relationship between all these different words and 然 is vague and hard to understand. Can you offer a logical analysis of why/how 然 is used in such expressions?

grammar kanji

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

Here are a few grammatical words that use 然 according to jisho.org:

• 然し（しかし）
  
  
  • however; but
  
  


• 然して（そして）
  
  
  • and; and then; thus; and now; and finally
  
  


• 然うして（そうして）
  
  
  • and; like that​
  
  


• 然も（しかも）
  
  
  • (1) moreover; furthermore​
  
  
  • (2) nevertheless; and yet​
  
  


• 然も（さも）
  
  
  • (1) really; extremely​
  
  
  • (2) in that way​ (Archaism)
  
  


• 然う（そう）
  
  
  • (1) in that way; thus; such
  
  
  • (2) so (agreement)
  
  
  • (3) so? (doubt)
  
  


• 然るべき（しかるべき）
  
  
  • proper; appropriate; due; suitable
  
  

According to jisho.org, the meanings of 然 are:

sort of thing, so, if so, in that case, well

The relationship between all these different words and 然 is vague and hard to understand. Can you offer a logical analysis of why/how 然 is used in such expressions?

grammar kanji

grammar kanji

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

share|improve this question

share|improve this question

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

asked 3 hours ago

Nicolas Louis Guillemot

43112

43112

add a comment | 

add a comment | 

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

up vote
2
down vote



accepted

How I see it, 然 has the same meaning in all cases, but with the different words and particles added after, it get different nuances. Below are my thoughts about it, but this is in no way a "scientific" explanation. Feel free to comment...

然 has the meaning of そう、その通り, "so"/"like this"/"like that"

然して is a contraction of 然うして, which is why they have very similar meanings today, although slight different nuances (然うして is more like "Like this the result is", whereas 然して is more of a continuation "and then", but they are often interchangeable)

然し is a contraction of 然しながら. This 然しか still has the meaning of "so"/"like this", whereas the ながら (in this case) is a contrastive conjunction like けれども. It thus means, "like this, but ..." or simply put, "however".

然しかも and 然さも combine the word with the particle も, and means something like "like this, and also ...", or simply, "furthermore"/その上.

然るべき adds べき to the word, adding the meaning of "should", so, "should like this", or simply, "appropriate".

For etymological research, I find this resource quite good:
https://kobun.weblio.jp

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
  – Eiríkr Útlendi
  21 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Usually, we don't use the Kanji 然 to write しかし，そして，そうして，しかも，さも，そう，しかるべき．You should use Hiragana instead.

When you search 然し（しかし）in a Japanese Dictionary,

しか‐し【▽然し／▽併し】

the symbol ▽ will appear.

▽ means that the Kanji-reading is not in the 常用漢字表 (regularly-used Kanji table).
Japanese people will not learn these Kanji-reading in their compulsory education and thus should not be used regularly used.

However, the Kanji 然 means "so" in Chinese, so these usages probably came from there.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
  – haruishi
  2 hours ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

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2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

2 Answers
2

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

active

oldest

votes

up vote
2
down vote



accepted

How I see it, 然 has the same meaning in all cases, but with the different words and particles added after, it get different nuances. Below are my thoughts about it, but this is in no way a "scientific" explanation. Feel free to comment...

然 has the meaning of そう、その通り, "so"/"like this"/"like that"

然して is a contraction of 然うして, which is why they have very similar meanings today, although slight different nuances (然うして is more like "Like this the result is", whereas 然して is more of a continuation "and then", but they are often interchangeable)

然し is a contraction of 然しながら. This 然しか still has the meaning of "so"/"like this", whereas the ながら (in this case) is a contrastive conjunction like けれども. It thus means, "like this, but ..." or simply put, "however".

然しかも and 然さも combine the word with the particle も, and means something like "like this, and also ...", or simply, "furthermore"/その上.

然るべき adds べき to the word, adding the meaning of "should", so, "should like this", or simply, "appropriate".

For etymological research, I find this resource quite good:
https://kobun.weblio.jp

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
  – Eiríkr Útlendi
  21 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
2
down vote



accepted

How I see it, 然 has the same meaning in all cases, but with the different words and particles added after, it get different nuances. Below are my thoughts about it, but this is in no way a "scientific" explanation. Feel free to comment...

然 has the meaning of そう、その通り, "so"/"like this"/"like that"

然して is a contraction of 然うして, which is why they have very similar meanings today, although slight different nuances (然うして is more like "Like this the result is", whereas 然して is more of a continuation "and then", but they are often interchangeable)

然し is a contraction of 然しながら. This 然しか still has the meaning of "so"/"like this", whereas the ながら (in this case) is a contrastive conjunction like けれども. It thus means, "like this, but ..." or simply put, "however".

然しかも and 然さも combine the word with the particle も, and means something like "like this, and also ...", or simply, "furthermore"/その上.

然るべき adds べき to the word, adding the meaning of "should", so, "should like this", or simply, "appropriate".

For etymological research, I find this resource quite good:
https://kobun.weblio.jp

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
  – Eiríkr Útlendi
  21 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
2
down vote



accepted

up vote
2
down vote



accepted

How I see it, 然 has the same meaning in all cases, but with the different words and particles added after, it get different nuances. Below are my thoughts about it, but this is in no way a "scientific" explanation. Feel free to comment...

然 has the meaning of そう、その通り, "so"/"like this"/"like that"

然して is a contraction of 然うして, which is why they have very similar meanings today, although slight different nuances (然うして is more like "Like this the result is", whereas 然して is more of a continuation "and then", but they are often interchangeable)

然し is a contraction of 然しながら. This 然しか still has the meaning of "so"/"like this", whereas the ながら (in this case) is a contrastive conjunction like けれども. It thus means, "like this, but ..." or simply put, "however".

然しかも and 然さも combine the word with the particle も, and means something like "like this, and also ...", or simply, "furthermore"/その上.

然るべき adds べき to the word, adding the meaning of "should", so, "should like this", or simply, "appropriate".

For etymological research, I find this resource quite good:
https://kobun.weblio.jp

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

How I see it, 然 has the same meaning in all cases, but with the different words and particles added after, it get different nuances. Below are my thoughts about it, but this is in no way a "scientific" explanation. Feel free to comment...

然 has the meaning of そう、その通り, "so"/"like this"/"like that"

然して is a contraction of 然うして, which is why they have very similar meanings today, although slight different nuances (然うして is more like "Like this the result is", whereas 然して is more of a continuation "and then", but they are often interchangeable)

然し is a contraction of 然しながら. This 然しか still has the meaning of "so"/"like this", whereas the ながら (in this case) is a contrastive conjunction like けれども. It thus means, "like this, but ..." or simply put, "however".

然しかも and 然さも combine the word with the particle も, and means something like "like this, and also ...", or simply, "furthermore"/その上.

然るべき adds べき to the word, adding the meaning of "should", so, "should like this", or simply, "appropriate".

For etymological research, I find this resource quite good:
https://kobun.weblio.jp

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

answered 1 hour ago

bjorn

1,354113

1,354113

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
  – Eiríkr Útlendi
  21 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  1 hour ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  1
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  @NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
  – Eiríkr Útlendi
  21 mins ago
  

  
  
  
  

relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
– Nicolas Louis Guillemot
1 hour ago

relating everything to そう indeed seems to make sense, even if we suppose that it's not scientific. Maybe 然る（さる） itself could also be seen as a contraction of そう＋ある?
– Nicolas Louis Guillemot
1 hour ago

1

1

@NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
– Eiríkr Útlendi
21 mins ago

@NicolasLouisGuillemot: 然【さ】る is the 連体形【れんたいけい】 (attributive form) of 然【さ】り, which I find in my dictionaries explained as さ (stem of さう, modern そう) + あり, the classical copula and earlier form of modern verb ある. So you're on the right track. :)
– Eiríkr Útlendi
21 mins ago

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Usually, we don't use the Kanji 然 to write しかし，そして，そうして，しかも，さも，そう，しかるべき．You should use Hiragana instead.

When you search 然し（しかし）in a Japanese Dictionary,

しか‐し【▽然し／▽併し】

the symbol ▽ will appear.

▽ means that the Kanji-reading is not in the 常用漢字表 (regularly-used Kanji table).
Japanese people will not learn these Kanji-reading in their compulsory education and thus should not be used regularly used.

However, the Kanji 然 means "so" in Chinese, so these usages probably came from there.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
  – haruishi
  2 hours ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

Usually, we don't use the Kanji 然 to write しかし，そして，そうして，しかも，さも，そう，しかるべき．You should use Hiragana instead.

When you search 然し（しかし）in a Japanese Dictionary,

しか‐し【▽然し／▽併し】

the symbol ▽ will appear.

▽ means that the Kanji-reading is not in the 常用漢字表 (regularly-used Kanji table).
Japanese people will not learn these Kanji-reading in their compulsory education and thus should not be used regularly used.

However, the Kanji 然 means "so" in Chinese, so these usages probably came from there.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
  – haruishi
  2 hours ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

up vote
1
down vote

up vote
1
down vote

Usually, we don't use the Kanji 然 to write しかし，そして，そうして，しかも，さも，そう，しかるべき．You should use Hiragana instead.

When you search 然し（しかし）in a Japanese Dictionary,

しか‐し【▽然し／▽併し】

the symbol ▽ will appear.

▽ means that the Kanji-reading is not in the 常用漢字表 (regularly-used Kanji table).
Japanese people will not learn these Kanji-reading in their compulsory education and thus should not be used regularly used.

However, the Kanji 然 means "so" in Chinese, so these usages probably came from there.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

Usually, we don't use the Kanji 然 to write しかし，そして，そうして，しかも，さも，そう，しかるべき．You should use Hiragana instead.

When you search 然し（しかし）in a Japanese Dictionary,

しか‐し【▽然し／▽併し】

the symbol ▽ will appear.

▽ means that the Kanji-reading is not in the 常用漢字表 (regularly-used Kanji table).
Japanese people will not learn these Kanji-reading in their compulsory education and thus should not be used regularly used.

However, the Kanji 然 means "so" in Chinese, so these usages probably came from there.

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

share|improve this answer

share|improve this answer

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

answered 2 hours ago

haruishi

113

113

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

New contributor

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

haruishi is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.

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  It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
  – haruishi
  2 hours ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment | 

• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
  – Nicolas Louis Guillemot
  2 hours ago
  

  
  
  
  


• 
  
  
  

  
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
  – haruishi
  2 hours ago
  
  

  
  
  
  

It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
– Nicolas Louis Guillemot
2 hours ago

It's definitely true that the kanji is not normally used, but that doesn't explain why it is assigned to those words.
– Nicolas Louis Guillemot
2 hours ago

Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
– haruishi
2 hours ago

Yeah I was curious too, so I did a search on it. The word 然 is an ideograph consisting of 3 characters. The top left is a depiction of a cut meat (切った肉), top right is a dog that is listening (耳を立てた犬), and the bottom is the flame (燃え立つ炎). It was originally meant to mean "burn" (もやす) but was used as a phonetic symbol for しかり, しかも, and そして source. It sounds weird, but I couldn't find any reliable source.
– haruishi
2 hours ago

add a comment | 

 

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