つらら

also: ひょうちゅう

つ

ら

ら

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

1

icicle

usually written using kana alone

The common word for an icicle, a hanging spike of ice formed by dripping water that freezes.

軒のき下したに長ながいつららが下さがっている。
A long icicle is hanging from the eaves.
暖あたたかくなってつららが落おち始はじめた。
It got warmer and icicles started falling.

2

ice pillar (for cooling a room)

Only when written 氷柱 · Only with reading ひょうちゅう

A pillar-shaped block of ice used historically to cool a room. This sense is restricted to the reading ひょうちゅう and is rare in modern usage.

昔むかしの家いえでは、夏なつに氷ひょう柱ちゅうを部屋へやに置おいて涼りょうをとった。
In old houses, people placed an ice pillar in the room to keep cool in summer.

3

archaic

Only with reading つらら

Archaic meaning for つらら, simply 'ice'. Not used in modern Japanese; the standard word for ice is 氷 (こおり).

古こ語ごでは「つらら」が単たんに氷こおりを指さすこともあった。
In old language, つらら could simply mean 'ice'.

See all 5 example sentences ›

Kanji

氷icicle, ice, hail
柱pillar, post, cylinder

Related words

氷こおり
The standard modern word for 'ice'. つらら specifically refers to an icicle, a hanging formation of ice.
霜しも柱ばしら
Refers to 'frost pillars' or needle ice that forms on the ground, not hanging icicles.

Written forms

つららUsage47%
The word is usually written in kana. The kanji spelling 氷柱 is also used, especially in literary or formal contexts.
氷柱Usage47%
- つらら
  Kanji spelling for つらら. Can also be read ひょうちゅう, but that reading is restricted to the ice pillar sense.
- ひょうちゅう
  Reading ひょうちゅう is used only for the ice pillar sense (sense 2). Rare in modern Japanese.
ツララUsage5%
氷つらら
Rare kanji spelling for つらら. The character 氷 alone usually means 'ice' and is read こおり.
ひょうちゅう

Etymology

The word つらら is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 氷柱 literally mean 'ice pillar', which matches the icicle meaning. The reading ひょうちゅう is the on'yomi of these characters.