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戯れ言 (ざれごと) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

戯ざれ言ごと

also: たわむれごと · ざれこと

ざ

れ

ご

と

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

noun

joke; jest; gag

A playful or silly remark, often not meant to be taken seriously. Can be used for light-hearted banter or nonsense talk.

彼かれの言いうことはいつも戯ざれ言ごとだ。
What he says is always just a joke.
そんな戯ざれ言ごとを真まに受うけるな。
Don't take such a silly joke seriously.

Written forms

戯れ言
- ざれごと
  Standard kanji spelling for ざれごと. Also read たわむれごと, but ざれごと is the more common reading.
- たわむれごと
たわむれごと
Alternate reading; less common than ざれごと and may sound literary or old-fashioned.

Kanji

戯frolic, play, sport
言

say, word

Similar words

冗じょう談だん
冗談 is the most common word for 'joke' in everyday conversation. 戯れ言 is more literary and often implies a frivolous or nonsensical remark.
たわ言ごと
たわ言 means 'nonsense' or 'rubbish' and is more negative than 戯れ言, which can be light-hearted.

Etymology

Compound of 戯れ (ざれ, 'playfulness') + 言 (こと, 'word'). The reading ざれ is the 連用形 of the verb 戯れる (ざれる, 'to jest'). The alternate reading たわむれごと uses the 連用形 of 戯れる (たわむれる).