There are a number of Japanese words which have distinct compounding forms:
- -a/-e alternation: 天・雨、酒、上、風、目 — many examples.
- -u/-i alternation: 神([神]{かむ}[集]{つど}ふ)、月([月]{つく}[読]{よみ})
- -o/-i alternation: 木([木]{こ}の[葉]{は})、火(炎【ほのほ】)
- -a/-o alternation: 白([白]{しら}[雪]{ゆき})
This BBS post has more examples. There is also another kind of alternation I know of, even rarer:
- s-insertion: 雨([春]{はる}[雨]{さめ})、青([真]{ま}っ[青]{さを})
I have three questions:
- Are there any other alternations I have missed?
- Is there an exhaustive listing of words with exceptional compound forms somewhere?
- To what extent is this process still alive? For instance, [風]{かざ}[車]{ぐるま} is a comparatively recent coinage.
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