Products of cross-level phraseological derivation in the light of variability

Language develops by being enriched in many ways, including the formation of new language units on the basis of phraseologisms. The article touches upon the phenomena of phraseological derivation and describes the main types of phraseological variability according to different approaches. A detailed characteristic of P. Ishida's and Y. Miyaji's works is given. The most significant differences between the Russian and Japanese approaches to phraseology-based lexical derivatives are singled out: the Japanese linguists consider some of them to be structural variants of original units due to the close ties between the lexemes and phraseological units (PU). Studying the Japanese approach and the degree of congruence between PUs and lexemes derived from these units helps to take a fresh look at the relationship between PU-based lexemes and original units. The study sheds light on the question of them being cross-level equivalents.