shiritori; word-chain game
A Japanese word game where players take turns saying a word that starts with the last kana of the previous word. Words ending in ん (n) are not allowed because no Japanese word starts with ん.
The children were playing shiritori.
しりとりで「りんご」の次は「ごりら」と言った。
In shiritori, after 'ringo' I said 'gorilla'.
Usually written in kana; the kanji spelling 尻取り is less common.
Kanji spelling; 尻 means 'buttocks/end' and 取 means 'take', reflecting the game's rule of taking the last syllable.
Irregular okurigana usage; rarely seen.
From 尻 (shiri, 'end') + 取り (tori, 'taking'), referring to the rule of taking the last syllable of the previous word.