苫とま

と

ま

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

woven mat; sedge mat; straw mat

A mat woven from plant materials such as sedge or hay, used for covering, sitting, or drying things.

漁りょう師しは船ふねの上うえで苫とまを敷しいて休やすんだ。
The fisherman spread a woven mat on the boat and rested.
昔むかしの家いえでは、苫とまを屋や根ねに使つかうこともあった。
In old houses, woven mats were sometimes used on roofs.

See all 3 example sentences ›

Kanji

苫rush matting
篷woven rush awning

Related words

ござ
ござ is a thinner mat, often made of rush, used as a floor covering or for sitting, while 苫 is coarser and used for more utilitarian purposes like covering cargo or drying grain.
むしろ
むしろ is a general term for a coarse woven straw mat, similar to 苫, but 苫 often implies a mat made of sedge or used in specific contexts like boats or roofs.

Word family

苫とま屋や
rush-thatched house

Written forms

苫とまUsage29%
Standard kanji for a woven mat, especially one made of sedge or straw.
とまUsage71%
篷とま
Alternate kanji, less common; originally referred to a bamboo mat or awning.

Etymology

The word とま is of native Japanese origin. The kanji 苫 is a phono-semantic compound with 艹 (plant) and 占 (to occupy), suggesting a mat that covers or occupies a space. The alternate kanji 篷 originally referred to a bamboo mat or awning, and its use for とま is an extension.