Meaning

Primary

Clothes

Alternatives

Coating, Breading

Word Type

noun

Explanation

The kanji and the word are exactly the same. That means they share meanings as well.

In modern Japanese, is more often used to describe the clothes your food is wearing, i.e. the coating on tempura or the breading on deep-fried foods.

Reading

ころも
  • Kyoko
    (Tokyo accent, female)
  • Kenichi
    (Tokyo accent, male)
きぬ
Audio not available

Explanation

What are clothes, really? Some people say clothes are the chromosomes (ころも) of your personal style — each garment carries information about your unique identity. Other people say clothes are simply the key to not being nude (きぬ). What do you think?

Both ころも and きぬ mean "clothes," but these usages are old-fashioned. Also note that the more modern meaning of "coating" or "breading" uses only the ころも reading!

Context

Patterns of Use

Common Word Combinations

  • 衣を着る

    to put on clothes

    衣をまとう

    to wear clothes

    衣をつける

    to put batter on something

Context Sentences

そろそろ衣がえの季節です。

It is almost time to change out the clothes for the season.

天ぷらの衣の作り方を教えてください。

Can you tell me how to make tempura batter?

あの病院の先生は、歯に衣着せぬ物の言い方をすることで有名です。

That doctor at the hospital is famous for speaking their mind without holding back.

Kanji Composition