Monday 3 October 2016

usage - What is the meaning of よ in the phrase 雨よ雪に変わってくれ


Read this phrase in a blog. I think the basic meaning of the phrase 雨よ雪に変わってくれ is "The rain is changing into snow." But I don't understand the usage of よ in this case. Is it a particle? Or is it a typo?



Answer



It's a vocative particle, like the English vocative "O" in the following example:



O Rain! Please change into snow!



It sounds poetic or literary.


It's defined as 係助詞「よ」 in 集英社国語辞典:




係助詞。相手への呼びかけ。「泣くな妹、妹泣くな」「風伝えよ、かの人に」「モズ、寒いと鳴くでねえ」



I bolded the meaning, which is basically vocative.


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