ゴミ

See also: コミ

Japanese

Alternative spellings
塵芥

Etymology

Uncertain. Nihon Kokugo Daijiten cites numerous theories from earlier dictionaries.^[1] These include:

Shortened from チリゴミ (chirigomi “dispersed in; scattered upon”); see 散(ち)る (chiru), 込(こ)む (komu)
From コミ (komi “flooding”), perhaps from waste dispersed in flood waters
Shortened from コヅミ (kozumi “stacks; that which accumulates”); see 積(つむ) (tsumu)
From クヅツミ(屑積) (kuzutsumi “waste”); see 屑(くず) (kuzu)
From ゴ (go), a regionalism meaning “pine needles”

Other authors note that go is used for “leaves” as well as “pine needles” in various regions of Japan.^[2]

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) ゴミ [gòmíꜜ] (Odaka – [2])
IPA^(key): [ɡo̞mʲi]

Noun

ゴミ or ごみ • (gomi)

trash, rubbish, garbage
Synonyms: あくた (akuta), 塵芥 (jinkai), 塵 (chiri)
- 1986, 宮崎駿 [Miyazaki Hayao], director, 天空の城ラピュタ [Laputa: Castle in the Sky], spoken by ムスカ [Musuka]:
  
  見(み)ろ！人(ひと)がゴミのようだ！
  Miro! Hito ga gomi no yō da!
  Look! The people look just like garbage!

Usage notes

In a survey conducted by the Agency of Cultural Affairs in 2019, respondents were asked whether they preferred writing ゴミを捨てる or ごみを捨てる (“throw out trash”). 73.0% of respondents said they preferred the spelling ゴミ while 20.8% preferred ごみ.^[3]

References

^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
^ “Gomi”, in Gogen yurai jiten [Etymological dictionary], 2024 March 1 (last accessed)
^ “平成30年度「国語に関する世論調査」の結果の概要”, in Agency for Cultural Affairs‎^[1], 2022 May 16 (last accessed)

[1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[2] “Gomi”, in Gogen yurai jiten [Etymological dictionary], 2024 March 1 (last accessed)

[3] “平成30年度「国語に関する世論調査」の結果の概要”, in Agency for Cultural Affairs‎^[1], 2022 May 16 (last accessed)

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