- Nyōbō kotoba
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Nyōbō kotoba (女房言葉 or 女房詞 lit. Wife's dialect ) 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 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 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 奥様 okusama okumoji wife 髪 kami kamoji hair 鯉 koi komoji carp 寿司 sushi sumoji, osumoji sushi See also
Categories:- Japanese vocabulary
- Cant languages
- Muromachi period
- Japan stubs
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