お年玉

Japanese

Kanji in this term
年	玉
とし Grade: 1	たま > だま Grade: 1
kun’yomi

Alternative forms

御(お)年(とし)玉(だま) (o-toshidama)

Etymology

From 御 (o-, honorific prefix) +‎ 年 (toshi, “year”) +‎ 玉 (tama, “ball; jewel”). Perhaps from the practice of offering balls of 餅 (mochi) to the gods in New Year.[1]

Pronunciation

Kun’yomi

(Tokyo) おとしだま [òtóshídámá] (Heiban – [0])[1][2][3]
IPA^(key): [o̞to̞ɕida̠ma̠]

Noun

お年(とし)玉(だま) • (o-toshidama)

a red envelope
- 1988 July 30 [Jul 25 1985], Fujiko F. Fujio, “宇(そ)宙(ら)からのおとし玉(だま) [An Outta-the-Ballue Falltune]”, in 宇宙船製造法 [How to Build a Spaceship] (藤子不二雄少年SF短編集; 3), volume 3 (fiction), 6th edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 10:
  かわったなあ、ミッちゃんも…………。手(て)をつないで学(がっ)校(こう)へかよったころもあったのに……。なにもかもかわっていくような気(き)がする。お正(しょう)月(がつ)さえも。たのしいことがいっぱいあったような気(き)がするなあ。すごろく、トランプ、たこあげ、お年(とし)玉(だま)…。
  Kawatta nā, Mitchan mo…………. Te o tsunaide gakkō e kayotta koro mo atta no ni……. Nani mo ka mo kawatteiku yō na ki ga suru. O-shōgatsu sae mo. Tanoshii koto ga ippai atta yō na ki ga suru nā. Sugoroku, toranpu, takoage, o-toshidama….
  Mitchan’s changed, too…. To think we used to go to school and back home, hand in hand…. It feels like everything’s changed now. Even New Year itself. There used to be a lot fun things to do. Playing sugoroku or cards, flying kites, collecting fortune money….

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[SMK5-2] 1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-3] 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN