あられ

Japanese
Alternative spelling
霰
あられ, あられもち

Etymology

Attested from the 8th century. In Man'yōshū (a. 759) 霰(あられ) (arare) appears to refer either to small bits of hail or graupel, or to larger hailstones (contemporary 雹(ひょう) (hyō)).[1]

Noun

あられ • (arare) 

  1. hail, (especially) bits of hail less than 5 mm in diameter, graupel
    霰(あられ)が降(ふ)った。
    Arare ga futta.
    It hailed.
    (literally, “Hail came down.”)
    • 711–712, Kojiki (Third scroll)
      笹(ささ)葉(ば)に打(う)つや阿(ア)良(ラ)礼(レ)の
      sasaba ni utsu ya arare no
      Hail beats the bamboo leaves
  2. small cubes
    人(にん)参(じん)をあられに刻(きざ)む
    ninjin o arare ni kizamu
    dice the carrot
  3. a pattern or design consisting of small blocks or squares
    あられ絣(がすり)の着(き)物(もの)
    araregasuri no kimono
    kimono with a block-shaped pattern
  4. short for あられもち (“small pieces of roasted mochi”)
  5. (historical) short for あらればしり (“a dance practiced during the Heian period”)

See also

References
  1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
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