okurigana - Can 複合動詞{ふくごうどうし} ever not have [送]{おく}り[仮 名]{がな} placed between the 2 kanji？

Can 複合動詞{ふくごうどうし} ever not have [送]{おく}り[仮名]{がな} placed between the 2 kanji in the compound verb？

Answer

Yes, it's possible if the 連用形{れんようけい} of the first verb does not have okurigana. For example:

• 見{み}る → 見- → 見上{みあ}げる


• 着{き}る → 着- → 着始{きはじ}める


• 寝{ね}る → 寝- → 寝落{ねお}ちる

And so on.

Even in cases when the compound verb does have middle okurigana, it may be omitted for brevity, e.g. especially in newspapers. With nouns created from such verbs even the ending okurigana may be dropped if the word is common enough:

• 引{ひ}き取{と}り → 引取{ひきと}り → 引取{ひきとり}.


• 受{う}け付{つ}け → 受付{うけつ}け → 受付{うけつけ}

(I think 受付 is actually the prevalent form these days)