ゲーム

Japanese

Alternative forms

(shortening, only in compounds) ゲー (gē), ゲ (ge)

Etymology

Borrowed from English game.^[1]^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ゲーム [géꜜèmù] (Atamadaka – [1])^[3]^[2]
IPA^(key): [ɡe̞ːmɯ̟]
Audio: (file)

Noun

ゲーム • (gēmu)

game
video game
スマホでゲームしたい。
Sumaho de gēmu shitai.
I want to play video games on my phone.

ゲーム依(い)存(ぞん)
gēmu izon
video game addiction

Usage notes

The term gēmu usually refers more to a competition with a clear winner and loser, whereas 遊(ゆう)戯(ぎ) (yūgi) may also refer more broadly to playing in general. Meanwhile, 試(し)合(あい) (shiai) is more specific in meaning and refers to a match between two or more opponents.

Synonyms

遊(ゆう)戯(ぎ) (yūgi)
試(し)合(あい) (shiai)

Derived terms

ゲームソフト (gēmu sofuto)
ギャルゲーム (gyarugēmu)
テレビゲーム (terebi gēmu)
ネットゲーム (netto gēmu)

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] 2.0 ^2.1 Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

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