代名詞(だいめいし)

だいめいし
noun
pronoun; byword, synonym
grammatical
1. pronoun
A grammatical term for a word that takes the place of a noun, such as これ, それ, 彼(かれ), 私(わたし).
「彼(かれ)」は代名詞(だいめいし)です。
'Kare' is a pronoun.
日本語(にほんご)の代名詞(だいめいし)は英語(えいご)ほど頻繁(ひんぱん)に使(つか)われない。
Pronouns in Japanese are not used as frequently as in English.
日本語(にほんご)には人称(にんしょう)代名詞(だいめいし)が数多(かずおお)くあり、場面(ばめん)によって使(つか)い分(わ)ける。
Japanese has many personal pronouns, and they are used differently depending on the situation.
2. byword, synonym, epitome
Something so closely associated with a quality or concept that it serves as a representative example. Used figuratively to mean "the very definition of" something.
富士山(ふじさん)は日本(にほん)の代名詞(だいめいし)だ。
Mount Fuji is synonymous with Japan.
カレーは国民食(こくみんしょく)の代名詞(だいめいし)とも言(い)える。
Curry could be called the epitome of a national dish.
あの選手(せんしゅ)は努力(どりょく)の代名詞(だいめいし)として知(し)られている。
That athlete is known as the very definition of hard work.

Sense 1 is the grammatical term. Sense 2 is a common figurative usage meaning "the epitome of" or "synonymous with."

Common collocations

  • 人称(にんしょう)代名詞(だいめいし) (personal pronoun)
  • 指示(しじ)代名詞(だいめいし) (demonstrative pronoun)
  • 〜の代名詞(だいめいし) (byword for ~, synonym for ~)

The figurative sense 2 is very common in journalism and everyday speech. The pattern 〜の代名詞(だいめいし) means something is so representative of a concept that merely mentioning it evokes that concept.

Related Words

Related: 二人称(ににんしょう) (second person (grammatical))
general
Added 2026.2.18 3:37 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
11500/11647_daimeishi