お祭まつり

お

ま

つ

り

JLPTN4Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

festival; matsuri

polite (teineigo)

Polite form of 祭り, used to refer to a traditional Japanese festival, often with religious or community celebrations. The honorific お adds politeness and is commonly used in everyday speech.

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉でお祭まつりがあるthere is a festival at 〈place〉
今こん週しゅう末まつ、近ちかくの神じん社じゃでお祭まつりがある。
There's a festival at the nearby shrine this weekend.
お祭まつりに行いくto go to a festival
浴衣ゆかたを着きてお祭まつりに行いった。
I wore a yukata and went to the festival.
お祭まつりが始はじまる／終おわるthe festival starts / ends
太たい鼓この音おととともにお祭まつりが始はじまった。
The festival began with the sound of drums.
お祭まつりの屋や台たいfestival food stalls
お祭まつりの屋や台たいでたこ焼やきを買かった。
I bought takoyaki at a festival stall.

Kanji

祭ritual, offer prayers, celebrate
祀enshrine, worship

Related words

縁えん日にち
縁日 refers specifically to a temple or shrine fair day with stalls, while お祭り covers festivals more broadly, including ones without stalls.
フェスティバル
フェスティバル is a modern loanword used for secular or Western-style events (music festivals, film festivals), while お祭り usually implies a traditional Japanese community or shrine festival.

Politeness

祭まつりplainN4
お祭り adds the polite prefix お and is more common in everyday conversation, while 祭り is the plain form often used in compounds or formal writing.

Word family

お祭まつり騒さわぎ
festival merrymaking; revelry; wild celebration
お祭まつり気き分ぶん
festive mood; holiday mood; festive atmosphere

Written forms

お祭まつり
Standard polite form with honorific prefix お. The most common spelling.
お祭まつり
Less common variant without the okurigana り.
お祀まつり
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form using 祀, which specifically refers to religious festivals or enshrinement.
お祀まつり
rarely-used kanji form
Rare variant of お祀り without the okurigana.

Etymology

Polite form of 祭り (matsuri), with the honorific prefix お added. 祭り itself derives from the verb 祀る (matsuru, 'to enshrine, to worship'), referring to rituals and celebrations for deities.