塵紙(ちりがみ)

Compound of 塵(ちり) (dust) + 紙(かみ) (paper). A somewhat old-fashioned word for tissue paper. In modern Japanese, ティッシュ is far more common in everyday speech.

SYNONYMS:

• ティッシュペーパー: tissue paper (most common today)
• トイレットペーパー: toilet paper

CULTURAL NOTES:

• 塵紙(ちりがみ)交換(こうかん): a once-common service where trucks drove through neighborhoods collecting old 新聞(しんぶん) and exchanging them for tissue paper
• In Japan, ポケット(ぽけっと) tissues are often handed out free at 駅前(えきまえ) as 広告(こうこく) — a unique Japanese custom

The word 塵紙(ちりがみ) is still understood but sounds dated to younger speakers.