鼻くそ
hanakuso
The Japanese word for booger is 鼻くそ (hanakuso).
鼻くそ refers specifically to a piece of solid or semi-solid mucus.
Meaning: a piece of solid or semi-solid mucus (noun)
Which one should you use?
鼻くそ is used for solid boogers, whereas 鼻水 is used to describe liquid nasal mucus or a runny nose.
Is there a formal and an informal way to say it?
The term 鼻くそ is quite blunt and informal, similar to the English word 'booger'.
How do you pronounce it?
hanakuso
Did you know?
- The word 鼻くそ is composed of 鼻 meaning 'nose' and くそ meaning 'feces' or 'excrement'.
- The term くそ is also used as an intensifier similar to the English 'damn' or 'hella', meaning 'extremely' when placed before an adjective.
- In Japanese, the term 鼻くそ can sometimes be used metaphorically in slang to describe something of extremely low value or 'worthless' items.
Examples in context
- 鼻くそを取る。hanakuso o toru.To pick a booger.
- 大きな鼻くそが出てきた。ookina hanakuso ga detekita.A big booger came out.
Example conversation
Yota and Himari are sitting together in a living room.
- 陽太 Yota陽葵、鼻くそが出てるよ。Himari, hanakuso ga deteru yo.Himari, you have a booger.
- 陽葵 Himariえっ、本当に？どこ？e, hontō ni? doko?What, really? Where?
- 陽太 Yota右の穴から見えてるよ。migi no ana kara mieteru yo.It's visible in your right nostril.
- 陽葵 Himariもう、恥ずかしい！mō, hazukashii!Geez, how embarrassing!
