A Great Word in Japanese

January 17th, 2011

Sometimes on TV programs, they ask Japanese folks what their favorite Japanese words are. The answers are inevitably psuedo-profound, relating to love or perseverance or the like.

And, sometimes on TV programs, they ask foreigners what their favorite Japanese words are. The answers are inevitably silly.

I don’t know if it’s my absolute favorite word, but one of the Japanese words I’ve always liked is the Japanese for ant-lion: 蟻地獄 (arijigoku).

It means, literally, “ant hell”.

For awesome descriptiveness, that’s hard to beat.

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