餅

Pattern visualization

Examples

1. お正月にお餅を食べます。▶ —
   We eat mochi at New Year.
2. 焼き餅は美味しいです。▶ —
   Grilled mochi is delicious.

Collocations

Mnemonic

お餅 / 餅 mochi — kanji 餅 = 食 (food) + 并 (joined) → "rice grains pressed and bound". Centerpiece of New Year ritual: 鏡餅 (kagami mochi, paired round mochi offered to gods), 雑煮 (zouni, New Year mochi soup), 餅つき (mochitsuki, the pounding ceremony where family and neighbors gather to pound steamed rice in a large mortar). Public health caveat: every New Year, mochi choking kills 100-200 elderly (餅で死ぬ in mortality statistics). One word compresses New Year custom, family ritual, and food-safety policy.

Quick check

1. Ritual function of 鏡餅 at New Year?

   • Paired round mochi offered to gods (family-deity bonding)
   • Mochi reflected in a mirror
   • Mirror-shaped bread
   • Type of grilled mochi