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もちもち mochimochi
Chewy, springy, bouncy-good.
What does mochimochi mean?
The texture of fresh mochi, good bread or thick udon: it pushes back a little when you bite. Also the highest compliment you can pay someone's skin.
Example
このパン、もちもちしておいしい。
This bread is wonderfully chewy.
Vibe
Who you can say this to, and how it lands.
Safe to use Fine in ordinary conversation.
The story behind mochimochi
Japanese sorts its sound words into two families: giongo, which copy actual noises, and gitaigo, which describe states that make no sound whatsoever. Texture words are gitaigo, and this language collects them the way other languages collect words for rain. Mochimochi is the springy one, borrowed straight from pounded rice cake, and it means dough that pushes back when you bite.
Food copywriters treat it as a power tool. Bakeries, udon shops and the bubble tea boom all lean on it, because a word your mouth can feel sells better than any adjective about quality. Then it escaped the kitchen: tell someone their skin is mochimochi and you have paid them a serious compliment.
Get mochimochi in your pocket
もちもち is one of 308 words in YABAI, a Japanese culture snack for Android. Every word comes with its meaning, an example sentence, a vibe check and a story like the one above — in 13 languages, read aloud by your device. Paid app: no ads, no sign-up, no subscription.
