Ongaku
/oːŋɡakɯ/noun
The Japanese word for music.
Did you know?Ongaku is written 音楽: 音 means “sound,” while 楽 can mean both “music” and “pleasure,” linking sound with delight in classical Chinese and Japanese thought.
Etymological Timeline
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
音
“Sound or audible voice”
Old Chinese, 1st millennium BCE
Old Chinese
樂
“Music; also joy or pleasure”
6th–8th Century
Middle Chinese
ʔim ngak
“The Sino-Chinese readings of the characters 音樂”
8th–10th Century
Old Japanese
ongaku
“Music, formed from Sino-Japanese on “sound” and gaku “music””
Medieval Japanese
Japanese
音楽
“Music, especially organized or performed musical sound”
Modern English
English loanword
ongaku
“A Japanese term used in English mainly in discussions of Japanese music and culture”