短冊
Meanings
1
tanzaku; poem slip; long narrow paper strip for writing poems
A long, narrow strip of paper, often colored, on which Japanese poems (especially waka) are written vertically. Strongly associated with Tanabata wishes.
On Tanabata, we write wishes on tanzaku and hang them on bamboo branches.
She wrote a waka poem on a tanzaku strip.
2
thin rectangle; oblong shape
abbreviation
Abbreviation of 短冊形; refers to a thin rectangular shape, often used in design or cutting instructions.
See also: 短冊形
Please cut the carrot into thin rectangular strips.
Usage patterns
- 短冊に〈事〉を書くto write something (a wish, a poem) on a tanzaku strip
I wrote my wish on a tanzaku strip.
- 〈物〉を短冊切りにするto cut something (a vegetable, etc.) into thin rectangular strips
I cut the daikon into thin strips and put it in the salad.
- 短冊を笹に飾るto hang tanzaku strips on a bamboo branch (Tanabata custom)
On Tanabata night, we hung tanzaku strips on the bamboo branch.