お箸
おはし
hepburn ohashi
chopsticks
Part of speech · noun
Pattern visualization
no decomposition available
Examples
- お箸で食べます。I eat with chopsticks.
- お箸の使い方を教えてください。Please teach me how to use chopsticks.
Collocations
お箸 / 箸 (ohashi / hashi, chopsticks)割り箸 (waribashi, disposable chopsticks)箸置き (hashioki, chopstick rest)渡し箸 (watashibashi, taboo: chopsticks across bowl)箸の使い方 (hashi no tsukaikata, chopstick etiquette)
Mnemonic
お箸 / 箸 ohashi/hashi — kanji 箸 = 竹 (bamboo) + 者. Homophone cluster: 箸 (hashi, chopsticks) vs 橋 (hashi, bridge) vs 端 (hashi, edge) — all read はし, with subtle pitch-accent differences. Etiquette vocabulary is rich: 渡し箸 (laying chopsticks across the bowl = taboo "I'm done"), 立て箸 (sticking them upright in rice = funeral taboo), 寄せ箸 (using them to pull the bowl, taboo), 探り箸 (digging for food, taboo). The vocabulary itself is etiquette training — foreigners who learn these win social trust.
Quick check
Why is 立て箸 taboo in Japan?