noun
cheap sweets; penny candy; dagashi
Refers to inexpensive, often retro Japanese snacks and candies, typically sold in small shops or at festivals. The term evokes nostalgia and childhood.
子供のころ、駄菓子屋でよく買い物をした。
When I was a child, I often shopped at the dagashi store.
この駄菓子は一個十円だ。
This cheap candy is 10 yen each.
スナック菓子 refers to modern packaged snacks like potato chips, whereas 駄菓子 implies traditional, low-cost, often retro Japanese treats.
Compound of 駄 (da, 'low-grade, cheap') and 菓子 (kashi, 'sweets, confectionery'). The term has been used since the Edo period to describe inexpensive, everyday sweets.