Mottainai (nonfiction): Difference between revisions

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[[File:Woman-mending-net_Utagawa_Kuniyoshi.jpg|thumb|Woman mending a fishing net (Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798 - 1861).]]'''Mottainai''' (もったいない?, ''mottainai'') is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste.
[[File:Woman-mending-net_Utagawa_Kuniyoshi.jpg|thumb|Woman mending a fishing net (Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798 - 1861).]]'''Mottainai''' (もったいない?, ''mottainai'') is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste.
== Description ==


The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste."
The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste."
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Mottainai has been referred to as a tradition, a cultural practice, and an idea which is still present in Japanese culture, which has become an international concept.
Mottainai has been referred to as a tradition, a cultural practice, and an idea which is still present in Japanese culture, which has become an international concept.


== Nonfiction cross-reference ==
== In the News ==
 
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== Fiction cross-reference ==
== Fiction cross-reference ==
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* [[Mister Apple Goes Ouch]]
* [[Mister Apple Goes Ouch]]


== External links ==
== Nonfiction cross-reference ==
 
External links ==


* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mottainai Mottainai] @ Wikipedia
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mottainai Mottainai] @ Wikipedia


[[Category:Nonfiction (nonfiction)]]
[[Category:Nonfiction (nonfiction)]]

Revision as of 10:00, 29 June 2016

Woman mending a fishing net (Utagawa Kuniyoshi, 1798 - 1861).

Mottainai (もったいない?, mottainai) is a Japanese term conveying a sense of regret concerning waste.

The expression "Mottainai!" can be uttered alone as an exclamation when something useful, such as food or time, is wasted, meaning roughly "what a waste!" or "Don't waste."

In addition to its primary sense of "wastefulness", the word is also used to mean "impious; irreverent" or "more than one deserves".

Mottainai is an old Buddhist word, which has ties "with the Shinto idea that objects have souls."

Mottainai has been referred to as a tradition, a cultural practice, and an idea which is still present in Japanese culture, which has become an international concept.

In the News

Fiction cross-reference

Nonfiction cross-reference

External links ==