1.
thicket; undergrowth; dense bushes
A dense cluster of bushes, shrubs, or low-growing trees, often found in parks, forests, or gardens.
Refers to a dense mass of shrubs or low trees growing closely together. Unlike 森 (forest) or 林 (grove), 茂み implies shorter, bushier vegetation that one might push through or hide behind.
Common collocations
- 茂みに隠れる — hide in the bushes
- 茂みの中 — inside the thicket
- 茂みをかき分ける — push through the undergrowth
- 草の茂み — grassy thicket
Similar words
- 藪 — also means thicket or bush, but often implies a more tangled, wilder mass of vegetation, sometimes with negative connotations (e.g., 藪蚊, bush mosquito)
- 草むら — patch of tall grass, not necessarily bushes or trees