1.
offering (to gods, Buddha, or the deceased)
Food, drink, or other items placed before a shrine, altar, or grave as a religious or spiritual offering.
仏壇にお供えを置いた。
I placed an offering on the Buddhist altar.
お正月にはお供え餅を飾ります。
We display kagami mochi as an offering at New Year.
お供えの果物を下げて家族で食べた。
We took down the fruit offering and the family ate it together.
祖父の命日にお供えとして好きだった和菓子を選んだ。
I chose Japanese sweets that my grandfather liked as an offering on his memorial day.
Refers to items offered to deities, Buddhist figures, or ancestors. The word uses the honorific prefix お and the noun form of 供える (to offer). After being offered, items are often "taken down" (下げる) and consumed by the family, which is considered respectful sharing of divine blessings.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- お供えを上げる: make an offering
- お供えを下げる: take down an offering (to eat it)
- お供え餅: offering rice cakes (kagami mochi)
- お供え物: offering items (formal)
- 仏壇のお供え: altar offerings
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
Common offerings include rice, fruit, sweets, sake, and water. At New Year, stacked round mochi called 鏡餅 are placed as offerings. The act of eating offerings after they have been presented is called お下がり, and is seen as receiving blessings from the deity or ancestor.