A.Word.A.Day --bokeh

A.Word.A.Day

About | Media | Search | Contact

Home

Today's Word

Archives

Jun 1, 2020

This week’s theme
Words borrowed from Japanese

This week’s words
bokeh
sensei
sayonara
origami
seppuku

With and without bokeh

Photo: Basile Morin / Wikimedia

Previous week’s theme
What the h...

A.Word.A.Day

with Anu Garg

You may know Japan as the land that gave us manga and anime, ikebana and bonsai, and more. It’s also a place of high technology and deep enlightenment. It’s a place where they may be working on the gadget that can make a cup of tea in seconds. It’s also the place where learning how to properly make and serve tea can take years.

Of all the places I have visited around the world, Japan remains among my most favorite. This week we’ll take you to Japan through five words from Japanese that we have borrowed into the English language.

bokeh

PRONUNCIATION:

(BOH-kay/kuh)

MEANING:

noun: The blurred effect in a photograph, typically as a soft out-of-focus background, that results in a pleasing effect and helps to draw attention to the subject of the photograph.

ETYMOLOGY:

From Japanese boke (blur, haze) or boke-aji (blur quality). Earliest documented use: 1997.

USAGE:

“All I remember now are those lights that decorated my soul behind a bokeh.”
Mukhpreet Khurana; Unlocked Silences; Notion Press; 2018.

A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

I want to walk through life instead of being dragged through it. -Alanis Morissette, musician (b. 1 Jun 1974)

We need your help

Help us continue to spread the magic of words to readers everywhere

Donate

Subscriber Services
Awards | Stats | Links | Privacy Policy
Contribute | Advertise