momohiki

Welcome to the first Japanese Word of the Week! Or, as I like to call it "Konshuu no Nihongo"*...

This week's word is particularly appropriate since, despite a number of recent claims that this winter has been a mild one, I have been wearing momohiki ("mo-mo-hee-kee") on an almost daily basis since mid-November. Hopefully, with the impending arrival of spring (any day now!), my momohiki-wearing days are almost over.

I actually couldn't find momohiki in my trusty Japanese-English dictionary. Perhaps it will be in the new edition, due out in September 2006 (pre-order yours today!). No, this week's nihongo was learned thanks to the frequent emails that I receive from the folks at J-List, your one-stop shop for Japanese items - you can find the original email, dated February 24, here.**


Anyway, without further ado, momohiki is the Japanese word for "long underwear", an item that most Canadians likely consider to be an integral part of their winter wardrobe (at least those who live east of coastal British Columbia). I think I'll be able to use that one a lot.


konshuu = this week
nihongo = Japanese language (nihon signifying Japan and go as a suffix which means word or language)

**If you're wondering what might be worth ordering from J-List, allow me to suggest the oh-so-cute-and-of-course-essential Domokun, national broadcaster NHK's fuzzy and loveable mascot (and what I bought Randal for his birthday last year). ...If you're really curious (and you should be), you can find more on Domokun here.