A Great Word in Japanese
January 17th, 2011Sometimes 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.