Nyōbō kotoba
Nyōbō kotoba (女房言葉 or 女房詞, lit. "woman's words") was a cant that was originally used by Japanese court ladies during the Muromachi era, and subsequently spread and came to be thought of as a general women's language. It consisted primarily of a special vocabulary of words for food, clothing, and other household items. Many of the created words were descriptions of the thing they were naming, whether that was a description of a characteristic, shape, color, or usage.
Many nyōbō kotoba words were formed by adding the prefix o-, which indicates politeness, or by dropping part of a word and adding -moji, meaning "character, letter".
Some nyōbō kotoba words passed into general usage, and are today part of the standard Japanese language.
Examples
| Source | Nyōbō kotoba | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 団子 dango | ishiiishi | dang (a type of dumpling) |
| 強飯 kowameshi | okowa | rice with red beans |
| 厠 kawaya | okawa | toilet |
| 中 naka "middle" | onaka | stomach |
| 鳴らす narasu "to sound" | onara | fart |
| 鰹節 katsuobushi | okaka | dried bonito flakes |
| 欠餅 kakimochi | okaki | kakimochi (type of rice cracker) |
| 豆腐 tōfu | okabe | tofu |
| 奥様 okusama | okumoji | wife |
| 強飯 kowameshi | okowa | mochi with red beans |
| 薩摩芋 satsumaimo | osatsu | sweet potato |
| 飯 meshi | odai | cooked rice; food |
| 吸い物、味噌汁 suimono, misoshiru | otsuke | clear soup broth, miso soup |
| 握り飯 nigirimeshi | onigiri | rice ball |
| 饅頭 manjuu | oman | steamed bun with filling |
| お夜 oyoru "sleep, rest" | oyoru | to sleep (v.) |
| 髪 kami | kamoji | hair |
| 鯉 koi | komoji | carp |
| 杓子 shakushi | shamoji | rice scoop |
| 寿司 sushi | sumoji, osumoji | sushi |
| 月経 gekkei | make | menstrual period |
| 波の花 naminohana "crest of a wave" | naminohana | salt |
| 大蒜 nin'niku | nimoji | garlic |
| ねぎ negi | hitomoji | spring onion |
| 浴衣 yukata | yumoji | yukata (type of summer kimono) |
References
- 日本語解釈活用事典, ぎょうせい, 1993, ISBN 978-4324037072
- Nicolae, Raluca. "An historical perspective on women's speech in Japanese".
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - 古典文学レトリック事典. 学燈社. 1993. ISBN 978-4312100382.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.