1.
a shortened form of a word, phrase, or expression; a contraction or abbreviation that is in common use as a substitute for the full version
A general grammatical/linguistic term for any shortened version of a longer word or expression. It covers English-style contractions like 'don't' for 'do not', Japanese colloquial contractions like 〜じゃない for 〜ではない, abbreviated names like スマホ for スマートフォン, and the various ways that nouns or technical terms get shortened in everyday speech. Common in language-learning materials, dictionaries, and grammar explanations.
Composed of 短縮 ('shortening, contraction') + 形 ('form, shape'). The suffix 形 is also used in many other grammar terms: 過去形 ('past form'), 否定形 ('negative form'), 命令形 ('imperative form').
Usage
短縮形 is a general cover term used in:
- English-language teaching, where it translates 'contraction': can't = cannot, I'm = I am.
- Japanese grammar explanations, where it covers colloquial contractions like 〜ちゃう (← 〜てしまう), 〜じゃ (← 〜では), and すいません (← すみません).
- Vocabulary and slang discussions, where it covers shortened loanwords like スマホ (← スマートフォン), パソコン (← パーソナルコンピュータ), コンビニ (← コンビニエンスストア), and リモコン (← リモートコントロール).
In Japanese, contractions are particularly common in casual spoken language. Some, like じゃ (← では) and ちゃう (← てしまう), are now so well established that they have their own dictionary entries. Learners are usually introduced to these 短縮形 after mastering the full forms, since the contractions can otherwise be hard to recognize.
Common collocations
- 短縮形を使う: to use a shortened form
- 短縮形にする: to shorten (something) into a contracted form
- 短縮形で書く: to write in shortened form
- 短縮形を覚える: to memorize the contracted forms
- 〜の短縮形: the shortened form of ~
- 動詞の短縮形: the shortened form of a verb
- カタカナ語の短縮形: the shortened form of a katakana loanword
Similar words
- 省略形: omitted form, abbreviated form — close in meaning; emphasizes that something has been left out rather than that the form is shorter overall.
- 略語: abbreviation, acronym — refers to abbreviated words or initialisms (e.g. NHK, JR, スマホ); a more common everyday word for shortened nouns.
- 略称: abbreviated name — used for shortened forms of organization names, country names, and titles.
- 縮約形: contracted form — a more technical linguistics term.
- 基本形: base form, dictionary form — the opposite concept; the unshortened or 'plain' form of a verb or adjective.