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.…