あられ

Japanese

Alternative spelling
霰

あられ, あられもち

Etymology

Attested from the 8th century. From Proto-Japonic *arare. 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)).

Compare dialectal 霰 (arane), Miyako 霰 (arari), Yaeyama 霰 (arari).

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

• あられ (菓子) on the Japanese Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^ja
• Arare (food) on Wikipedia.Wikipedia