köken: /kawajui/ → /kawaiː/ Shift in pronunciation from kawayui below. The kanji spelling 可愛い is an example of ateji (当(あ)て字(じ)), and uses an irregular reading of 愛. The phonological resemblance to Mandarin 可愛 (kě'ài), Min Nan 可愛 (khó-ài, “lovable”) is coincidental. Note that the medial -w- here is not an excrescence added between ka (可) and ai (愛), since the word is not formed from these morphemes.…
köken: Etymology tree Latin adōrō Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlom Proto-Indo-European *-dʰlis Proto-Italic *-ðlis Latin -bilis Latin adōrābilis From adōrō + -bilis.
cute (having features mainly attributed to infants and small or cuddly animals; attractive or pleasing in a youthful, dainty, quaint or fun-spirited way) · dainty (delicately small and pretty) · sweet
Inherited from Middle French mignon, from Old French mignon (“dainty, pleasing, gentle, kind”), from Frankish *minnju (“love, friendship, affection, memory”), from Proto-Germanic *minjō (“affectionate thought, care”), from Proto-Indo-European *men- (“to think”). Cognate with Old High German minna (“love, care, affection, desire, memory”), Old Saxon minnia (“love”), Old Dutch minna (Dutch min).…