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.[1] 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, which indicates politeness,[2] or by dropping part of a word and adding .
Some nyōbō kotoba passed into general usage and are today part of the standard Japanese language.
Nyōbō kotoba | Meaning | Source | |
---|---|---|---|
dango | |||
rice with red beans | |||
toilet | |||
stomach | |||
fart (n.) | |||
dried bonito flakes | |||
kakimochi (type of rice cracker) | |||
tofu | |||
wife | |||
sweet potato | |||
cooked rice; food | |||
clear soup broth, miso soup | |||
rice ball | |||
steamed bun with filling | |||
to sleep (v.) | |||
hair | |||
carp | |||
rice scoop | |||
, | sushi | ||
menstrual period | |||
salt | |||
garlic | |||
spring onion | |||
yukata (type of summer kimono) |