biwa

See also: Biwa

English

Etymology

Borrowing from Japanese 琵琶 (biwa). Doublet of bipa and pipa.

Noun

biwa (plural biwas or biwa)

1. A plucked lute, originating in the classical and traditional music of Japan, characterized by a pear-shaped body and four or five high frets, giving the instrument a distinctively twangy tone.

Translations

lute

• Catalan: biwa (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 日本琵琶 (Rìběn pípa)

• Finnish: biwa (fi)
• Japanese: 琵琶 (ja) (びわ, biwa)
• Korean: 비와 (biwa)
• Malay: biwa
• Marathi: बिवा f (bivā)
• Polish: biwa (pl) f
• Russian: би́ва (ru) f (bíva)

See also

• Appendix:Glossary of chordophones

References

• 2013. Japanese Music and Musical Instruments. William Malm. Pg. 44.
• 2015. Japanese Singers of Tales: Ten Centuries of Performed Narrative. Alison McQueen Tokita. Pg. 60.

Anagrams

• wabi

Indonesian

Etymology

From Japanese 琵琶湖 (biwa, “Lake Biwa”), referring to where the pearls are first cultured.

Noun

biwa

1. Cultured freshwater pearls, especially referring to the flat type of biwa pearls.

Further reading

• “biwa” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation – Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic of Indonesia, 2016.

Japanese

Romanization

biwa

1. Rōmaji transcription of びわ
2. Rōmaji transcription of ビワ

Sakizaya

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /bi.ˈwa/, [bi.ˈwa]

Noun

biwa

1. loquat tree