Talk:Kunyomi

The Kunyomi reading system is characterized by its balanced consonant-vowel structure (similar to that of Spanish).

What is meant by this phrase? If it just means that vowels and consonants alternate, isn't that nothing but a consequence of the Japanese syllabary, applying just as much to onyomi? I may be wrong, but in either case this sentence needs clarifying or reworking. --AlexChurchill 13:32, Jul 14, 2004 (UTC)

I would guess that what was meant was that on'yomi usually consist of exactly two mora: one "ordinary" consonant-vowel mora plus one of あいうえん. As opposed to kun'yomi which most of the time have a pure alternating pattern. E.g. 東: on'yomi tō, kun'yomi higashi. Or 雷: on'yomi rai, kun'yomi kaminari. See what I mean? The same pattern fits in most cases: it's what allows us to guess whether a compound is on' or kun' by sound even if we've never heard it before (though I'd never actually realized it before reading this article :). I agree that the article needs to be clarified, though. --Shibboleth 15:50, 16 Jul 2004 (UTC)