風呂

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. お風呂に入ります。▶ —
   I take a bath.
2. 日本のお風呂は熱いです。▶ —
   Japanese baths are hot.

Collocations

Mnemonic

お風呂 ofuro — お (honorific) + 風呂 (furo). Etymology debated (possibly from 蒸し風呂, steam baths). Core of Japanese bathing culture: (1) immersion in 40-42°C water — hotter than Korean/Western norms, (2) family shares the same bathwater (お湯はそのまま — bathwater stays clean because washing happens with the shower outside the tub), (3) 銭湯 (sentou, neighborhood public bath), 温泉 (onsen, natural hot spring). One word packs housing, family ritual, hygiene logic, and tourism industry. Compare Korean mogyoktang and jjimjilbang.

Quick check

1. Why can a Japanese family share the same bathwater?

   • Washing happens with the shower outside the tub; the bath is only for soaking
   • Water is refilled each time
   • Water scarcity
   • Superstition