Editing Homophone (section)

===Japanese===
There are many homophones in Japanese, due to the use of [[Sino-Japanese vocabulary]], where borrowed words and morphemes from Chinese are widely used in Japanese, but many phonemic contrasts, such as the original [[Tones in Chinese|words' tones]], are lost.

An extreme example is the pronunciation {{IPA|[kì̥kóō]}} which, accounting for the "flat" [[Japanese pitch accent|pitch accent]], is used for the following words:
{{div col begin|colwidth=12em}}
* {{lang|ja|機構}} (organization / mechanism)
* {{lang|ja|紀行}} (travelogue)
* {{lang|ja|稀覯}} (rare)
* {{lang|ja|騎行}} (horseback riding)
* {{lang|ja|奇功}} (outstanding achievement)
* {{lang|ja|起稿}} (draft)
* {{lang|ja|奇行}} (eccentricity)
* {{lang|ja|機巧}} (contrivance)
* {{lang|ja|寄港}} (stopping at port)
* {{lang|ja|帰校}} (returning to school)
* {{lang|ja|気功}} (breathing exercise, qigong)
* {{lang|ja|寄稿}} (contribute an article / a written piece)
* {{lang|ja|機甲}} (armor, e.g. of a tank)
* {{lang|ja|帰航}} (homeward voyage)
* {{lang|ja|奇効}} (remarkable effect)
* {{lang|ja|季候}} (season / climate)
* {{lang|ja|気孔}} (stoma)
* {{lang|ja|起工}} (setting to work)
* {{lang|ja|気候}} (climate)
* {{lang|ja|帰港}} (returning to port)
{{div col end}}

Upon adoption from [[Middle Chinese]] into [[Early Middle Japanese]], certain sounds were modified or simplified to match Japanese phonology, causing homophony. For example, in the above list, {{lang|ja|機構}}, {{lang|ja|稀覯}}, {{lang|ja|季候}}, {{lang|ja|気功}}, {{lang|ja|起稿}}, {{lang|ja|帰校}} and {{lang|ja|紀行}} may have been pronounced {{IPA|[kɨj˧ kəw˥˩], [hɨj˧ kəw˥˩], [kwi˥˩ ɦəw˥˩], [kʰɨj˥˩ kəwŋ˧], [kʰɨ˧˥ kaw˧˥], [kuj˧ ɦaɨw˥˩] and [kɨ˧˥ ɦaɨjŋ˧]}} in Middle Chinese, but {{IPA|[kikou], [kikou], [kikou], [kikoũ], [kikau], [kikau] and [kikaũ]}} in Japanese. Furthermore, there were vowel fusions and mergers during [[Late Middle Japanese]] which furthered even more homophony. For example, {{lang|ja|機構}}, {{lang|ja|奇功}}, {{lang|ja|起稿}} and {{lang|ja|紀行}} were once pronounced distinctly as {{IPA|[kikou], [kikoũ], [kikau] and [kikaũ]}}, but now all as {{IPA|[kikoo]}}.