端午(たんご)

たんご
noun
Boys' Day; Tango no Sekku (May 5)
culturetime-general
1. Boys' Day; the Tango Festival (May 5)
A traditional seasonal festival held on May 5, originally celebrating boys' growth and health. Now a national holiday under the name こどもの日(こどものひ) (Children's Day).
五月五日(ごがついつか)は端午(たんご)の節句(せっく)だ。
May 5 is the Tango Festival.
端午(たんご)の節句(せっく)には鯉(こい)のぼりを立(た)てる。
On the Tango Festival, families fly carp streamers.
端午(たんご)の節句(せっく)に息子(むすこ)のために兜(かぶと)を飾(かざ)り、ちまきを用意(ようい)した。
For the Tango Festival I displayed a samurai helmet for my son and prepared chimaki rice dumplings.

Almost always appears as 端午(たんご)の節句(せっく) (the Tango seasonal festival). The word 端午(たんご) alone is rare in modern speech. Note the homophone 単語(たんご) (vocabulary word) — completely different meaning, different kanji.

Common collocations

  • 端午(たんご)の節句(せっく): the Tango Festival
  • 端午(たんご)の節句(せっく)を祝(いわ)う: to celebrate the Tango Festival

Cultural note

Traditional customs include flying 鯉(こい)のぼり (carp streamers), displaying 兜(かぶと) (samurai helmets) or 五月人形(ごがつにんぎょう) (warrior dolls), eating 柏餅(かしわもち) (oak-leaf mochi) and ちまき (sweet rice dumplings), and bathing in 菖蒲湯(しょうぶゆ) (iris baths). Since 1948, May 5 has officially been こどもの日(こどものひ) (Children's Day) as a national holiday.

general
Added 2026.6.4 11:08 · Revised 2026.9.2 13:02
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