What does “kurage” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “kurage” to mean ‘jellyfish’ in Japanese. Perhaps, some Japanese learners know this word as it is sometimes used in Japanese movies, songs, novels, manga, anime, and the like. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail together with its kanji expressions. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners understand “kurage” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meaning of “kurage”
Let me start with the definition and meaning of “kurage”.
- kurage – 海月/水母 (くらげ) : a noun meaning ‘jellyfish’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. Learn more about Japanese plural.
The definition and meaning are simple and clear. However, this noun has two different kanji expressions. Both are very interesting, so let me explain them in detail.
Kurage in kanji
The first kanji expression of “kurage” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 海 : a kanji character used to mean ‘sea’ or ‘ocean’ in Japanese.
- 月 : a kanji character used to mean ‘moon’ or ‘month’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the first kanji expression of “kurage” literally means the ‘sea moon’ in Japanese. Japanese people in the past described jellyfish as the moon reflected on the sea. This idea is very cool, isn’t it? Honestly, jellyfish are not as beautiful as the moon reflected on the sea, but this kanji expression is a great metaphor, I think.
The second kanji expression of “kurage” consists of the following two kanji characters:
- 水 : a kanji character used to mean ‘water’ in Japanese.
- 母 : a kanji character used to mean ‘mother’ in Japanese.
These two kanji characters tell us that the second kanji expression of “kurage” literally means a ‘water mother’ in Japanese. Perhaps, Japanese people in the past thought that jellyfish were animals absorbing water in the sea and discharging it on the shore. So, they used the kanji character for ‘mother’ as a metaphor. This idea is a bit eccentric, but I love their senses of metaphor.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “kurage” through the detailed kanji checks above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kurage” together with its kanji expressions. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “jellyfish” in Japanese
kinou watashi tachi wa kurage wo tabe ta – 昨日私達は海月を食べた (きのうわたしたちはくらげをたべた)
Yesterday, we ate jellyfish.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- kinou – 昨日 (きのう) : a noun meaning ‘yesterday’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “yesterday” in Japanese.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- tachi – 達 (たち) : a suffix used after a noun or pronoun to make its plural form. In the example, this is used after “watashi” to make its plural form, “watashi tachi”, which means ‘we’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi tachi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- wo – を : a case particle used to make the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “kurage” to make the object in the sentence.
- tabe – 食べ (たべ) : one conjugation of the verb, “taberu“, which means ‘to eat’ in Japanese. In the example, it has been conjugated for the better connection with its following word.
- ta – た : an auxiliary verb used after a verb, adjective, or auxiliary verb to make its past tense form. In the example, this is used after “tabe” to make its past tense form, “tabe ta”.
This is a typical usage of “kurage”. In this example, it works together with the case particle, “wo”, to become the object in the sentence.
Example #2: another usage of “kurage”
kurage wa totemo kawaii desu ne – 海月はとても可愛いですね (くらげはとてもかわいいですね)
Jellyfish are very cute, aren’t they?
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- totemo – とても : an adverb of degree meaning ‘very’, ‘much’, ‘so’, or such in Japanese. In the example, this works in front of “kawaii” to emphasize its meaning.
- kawaii – 可愛い (かわいい) : an i-adjective meaning ‘cute’ in Japanese.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “kawaii” to make it sound polite.
- ne – ね : a sentence-ending particle used to ask for agreement in a soft way. As the definition suggests, this is used at the end of the example sentence to ask for agreement softly. This has been reflected in the English sentence as “aren’t they?”
This is another typical usage of “kurage”. In this example, it works together with the binding particle, “wa”, to become the subject in the sentence. When we want to say “jellyfish” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is always a very good option.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meaning of “kurage” in detail together with its kanji expressions. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- kurage – 海月/水母 (くらげ) : a noun meaning ‘jellyfish’ in Japanese. This can also work as plural. The first kanji expression literally means the ‘sea moon’; the second means a ‘water mother’. Both ideas are very interesting. Japanese people in the past had good senses of metaphor.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
