1.
rice cake; mochi (polite form)
The polite form of 餅 (mochi), a traditional Japanese food made from glutinous rice that has been pounded into a sticky, chewy mass. A staple of New Year celebrations and used in many traditional sweets and dishes.
お正月にお餅を食べる。
To eat mochi at New Year's.
お餅を焼いて醤油をつけた。
I grilled the mochi and dipped it in soy sauce.
毎年お正月になると、お餅を喉に詰まらせる事故のニュースが報道される。
Every New Year, there are news reports about accidents where people choke on mochi.
おばあちゃんが臼と杵でお餅をついてくれた。
Grandma pounded mochi for us with a mortar and pestle.
The polite お prefix is standard with 餅 in everyday speech, making お餅 the default conversational form. The お is not merely decorative; dropping it can sound curt in casual conversation.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- お餅をつく: to pound mochi
- お餅を焼く: to grill/toast mochi
- お餅を煮る: to boil mochi (in soup)
- 切り餅: pre-cut mochi blocks (sold in packages)
- 丸餅: round mochi (Kansai style)
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
Mochi is deeply associated with 正月 (New Year). It appears in 雑煮 (New Year's soup), 鏡餅 (decorative stacked mochi), and 磯辺焼き (grilled mochi wrapped in nori). The shape varies by region: round in western Japan, rectangular in eastern Japan. Every January, Japanese media report on choking incidents (窒息事故) among elderly people, making mochi safety a recurring seasonal topic.
RELATED WORDS:
- 餅: mochi — the base form, used in compounds
- 大福: daifuku — mochi stuffed with sweet bean paste
- 草餅: mugwort mochi — green mochi flavored with yomogi
- 白玉: shiratama — small mochi dumplings made from rice flour