Where does “電話” come from?

電話 (Japanese) comes from Japanese 電, from Middle Chinese 電.

電話 (Japanese): telephone; telephone call; phone call; call; to...

Definitions

  1. telephone; telephone call; phone call; call; to...

Ancestry of “電話”, step by step

電話 traces back through two separate lines of ancestry.

via Japanese 電

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese電lightning
2Middle Chinese電—

via Japanese 話

StepLanguageWordMeaning
1Japanese話talking; speaking; speech; conversation; story;...
2Middle Chinese話—

Words derived from “電話”

Every word from Middle Chinese 電 →Every word from Japanese 電 →