<p>I think 其他 and 其の他 appeared first in Japanese. 其の他 often appeared in 手紙、仕樣書. It means ceremonial and honorific. But in chinese 其他 was used extensively everywhere.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T09:15:22.157Z
I don't think so. And this reason is not sufficient enough. In history, Chinese has a great influence on Japanese. But the converse is much less.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T12:23:37.843Z
Very unlikely given the citation evidence.
Dono
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T22:50:34.637Z
@Lomography thanks for your answer. It would be helpful if you could provide a source or evidence to support your claim.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-01T05:50:40.643Z
It's more likely that 其の他 arose as a calque of 其他.
jogloran
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T03:59:52.817Z
2012-10-29T09:34:18.280Z
2012-10-29T09:34:18.280Z
Lomography
<p>其の他 can also be read as "sono hoka" in Japanese, both consisting of native Japanese morphemes. In "sono ta", only the "ta" (他) is borrowed from Chinese. Early citations for both expressions is c. 14th century. Japanese borrowed much vocabulary from Chinese. It is entirely possible that the reading "sono ta" or "sono hoka" developed from the Chinese 其他. However, as halfelf has cited, the Chinese is much older, so Japanese likely did not have any effect on the Chinese expression.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T22:51:59.083Z
Hi @Dono, thanks for your answer. It would be helpful if you could provide sources for any claims you make to support your answer.
going
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-30T00:16:01.597Z
@xiaohouzi79 The standard reference for early Japanese citations is 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten), 2nd edition.
Dono
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-03T11:12:54.307Z
@Dono You can't say "Japanese did not have any effect on the Chinese expression." 经济, 世界语 and so on are come from Japanese.
Mike Manilone
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-03T14:45:51.273Z
@MikeManilone You misquoted me. I suggest that you re-read what I wrote: (for reasons given) "so Japanese LIKELY did not have any effect on THE Chinese expression." THE Chinese expression being referred to here is 其他.
Dono
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T12:18:05.667Z
2012-10-29T12:18:05.667Z
Dono
<p>In Chinese, one uses the phrase 其他 when refering to other things. In Japanese one uses a similiar phrase: 其の他 (Sono ta), where 其 is often written in Hiragana: その他. Since the meaning is identical, I want to ask whether these two phrases have an etymological connection. If yes, which language's phrase appeared first?</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-10-29T09:28:34.777Z
The most oldest record I can find now is from `国语`. In chapter called `晋语四`, `民生安乐，谁知其他？`. It is considered this book is written in late `春秋` or early `战国` period. Maybe around 5th century B.C.
halfelf
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-03T09:29:49.660Z
康熙字典：《小雅》人知其一，莫知其他。
Mike Manilone
<etymology>
Etymology of 其他
# Etymology of 其他

(Asked by: username_0 on 2012-10-27)

In Chinese, one uses the phrase 其他 when refering to other things. In Japanese one uses a similiar phrase: 其の他 (Sono ta), where 其 is often written in Hiragana: その他. Since the meaning is identical, I want to ask whether these two phrases have an etymological connection. If yes, which language's phrase appeared first?

**Tags:** etymology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: The most oldest record I can find now is from `国语`. In chapter called `晋语四`, `民生安乐，谁知其他？`. It is considered this book is written in late `春秋` or early `战国` period. Maybe around 5th century B.C.  
> **username_2**: 康熙字典：《小雅》人知其一，莫知其他。  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_4 on 2012-10-29. Score: 4 | Accepted answer

其の他 can also be read as "sono hoka" in Japanese, both consisting of native Japanese morphemes. In "sono ta", only the "ta" (他) is borrowed from Chinese. Early citations for both expressions is c. 14th century. Japanese borrowed much vocabulary from Chinese. It is entirely possible that the reading "sono ta" or "sono hoka" developed from the Chinese 其他. However, as username_1 has cited, the Chinese is much older, so Japanese likely did not have any effect on the Chinese expression.

> **Comments:**
> **username_5**: Hi @username_4, thanks for your answer. It would be helpful if you could provide sources for any claims you make to support your answer.  
> **username_4**: @xiaohouzi79 The standard reference for early Japanese citations is 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten), 2nd edition.  
> **username_2**: @username_4 You can't say "Japanese did not have any effect on the Chinese expression." 经济, 世界语 and so on are come from Japanese.  
> **username_4**: @MikeManilone You misquoted me. I suggest that you re-read what I wrote: (for reasons given) "so Japanese LIKELY did not have any effect on THE Chinese expression." THE Chinese expression being referred to here is 其他.  

---

### Answer by username_3 on 2012-10-29. Score: -2

I think 其他 and 其の他 appeared first in Japanese. 其の他 often appeared in 手紙、仕樣書. It means ceremonial and honorific. But in chinese 其他 was used extensively everywhere.

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: I don't think so. And this reason is not sufficient enough. In history, Chinese has a great influence on Japanese. But the converse is much less.  
> **username_4**: Very unlikely given the citation evidence.  
> **username_5**: @username_3 thanks for your answer. It would be helpful if you could provide a source or evidence to support your claim.  
> **username_6**: It's more likely that 其の他 arose as a calque of 其他.  

---

