Where does “五十音” come from?

五十音 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 音, from Middle Chinese 音.

五十音 (Japanese): The modern ordering of the Japanese syllabaries:...

Definitions

  1. The modern ordering of the Japanese syllabaries:...

Ancestry of “五十音”, step by step

五十音 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 音

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese音sound
2Middle Chinese音—

via Japanese 五十

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese五十fifty, 50; a fifty-year-old; a large quantity
2Middle Chineseこしゆう—

Words derived from “五十音”

Every word from Middle Chinese 音 →Every word from Japanese 音 →