短冊(たんざく)

たんざく
noun
strip of paper (for poems/wishes)
culture
1. strip of paper, tanzaku
A narrow rectangular strip of paper used for writing poems, wishes, or calligraphy. Most commonly associated with the Tanabata festival, where wishes are written on colored strips and hung on bamboo branches.
短冊(たんざく)に願(ねが)い事(ごと)を書(か)く。
To write a wish on a tanzaku strip.
子(こ)どもたちが色(いろ)とりどりの短冊(たんざく)を笹(ささ)に飾(かざ)った。
The children decorated the bamboo with colorful tanzaku strips.
七夕(たなばた)の夜(よる)、風(かぜ)に揺(ゆ)れる短冊(たんざく)が美(うつく)しかった。
On the night of Tanabata, the tanzaku strips swaying in the wind were beautiful.

Usage

Most strongly associated with 七夕(たなばた) (Tanabata, the Star Festival on July 7), when people write wishes on 短冊(たんざく) and hang them on 笹(ささ) (bamboo grass). Also used in traditional poetry (和歌(わか), 俳句(はいく)) as a writing format.

Writing

短(たん) means "short" and 冊(ざく) (normally さつ) means "booklet" or "volume." The compound refers to the narrow, strip-like shape.

Common collocations

  • 短冊(たんざく)に書(か)く: to write on a tanzaku
  • 短冊(たんざく)を飾(かざ)る: to hang/decorate with tanzaku
  • 短冊(たんざく)切(ぎ)り: cutting into thin strips (cooking term)
general
Added 2026.2.26 21:51 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:01
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