＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49) on X
(Reference) Original article in Japanese
・「おさおさ・ゆめゆめ・つらつら」などの面白い畳語（じょうご）をご紹介します
Recently, the word “hobohobo” (almost/almost) has become quite common, especially among young people. I’ve even heard celebrities and TV announcers using it.
This is a type of reduplicative word（繰り返し言葉）, known as a “repetition of words（「畳語（じょうご）」）.” I believe more new reduplicative words will emerge in the future.
This time, I’d like to introduce some interesting examples of reduplicative words.
1. Specific Examples of Interesting Reduplicative Words
(1) Hobohobo（ほぼほぼ）
“Hobohobo” was selected as the grand prize winner of the 2016 “New Word of the Year” award by Sanseido Dictionary. Incidentally, the “U-CAN New Word/Buzzword Award” for the same year went to “Kami-tteru（「神（かみ）ってる」）” (divine/godlike).
While “hobohobo” has been used for a long time, even appearing in the “Diet Proceedings” of 1949, its usage increased from the 1990s onwards, becoming frequently used around 2010.
It seems to have become a popular slang term thanks to the variety show “Hobohobo ~Searching for the Next Big Thing in the Middle of the Night~（「ほぼほぼ～真夜中のツギクルモノ探し～」）” (MC: Ryota Yamasato, Yumi Karahashi, aired from April 2016 to April 2017).
Incidentally, it is written in kanji as “略略” or “粗粗”.
(2) Osaosa（おさおさ）
“Osaosa” means “(followed by a negative word) almost; completely.” It is used in phrases like “Prepare thoroughly without negligence,” but it’s not a word heard much these days.
It originates from the archaic word “osaosa（をさをさ）.”
(3) Yumeyume（ゆめゆめ）
“Yumeyume” has the following meanings:
① (Followed by a word expressing prohibition) Never, absolutely. Example: “Never, ever forget.”
② (Followed by a negative word) Not even a little, completely. Example: “I never even considered it.”
③ Diligently, carefully. Example: “You, still, diligently pray to Buddha.” (Konjaku Monogatari)
Incidentally, in kanji, “ateji” (phonetic equivalents) such as “努努,” “努力努力,” and “夢夢” are used.
This is also a word that is not heard very often these days.
(4) Tsuratsura（つらつら）
“Tsuratsura” means “thinking or looking at something carefully; thoroughly; deeply.”
It is used in phrases like “Thinking about it carefully.” However, this is also not used very often these days, but it is a word with a deep meaning.
Incidentally, in kanji, it is written as “熟,” “熟々,” or “倩.”
2. About Reduplication
A “reduplication” is a word formed by repeating the same word or phrase. It is a type of compound word, and the process of forming a reduplication is called “repetition” or “duplication.”
(1) Usage
① Emphasis: “Very very（とてもとても）,” etc.
② Onomatopoeia (sound-imitating words): “Rumbling（ごろごろ）,” “Sparkling（きらきら）,” etc.
③ Indicating multiple objects: “People（人々）,” “Mountains（山々）,” etc.
④ Repetition/Continuation of actions: “Taking breaks（休み休み）,” “Continually（続々）,” etc.
⑤ Baby talk: “Eyes（おめめ）,” “Hands（おてて）,” etc.
⑥ Nickname: “Tantan（タンタン）,” etc.
(2) Parts of Speech
① Noun: “People（人々）,” “Mountains（山々）,” “Countries（国々）”
② Verb: “Crying（泣く泣く）,” “Taking breaks（休み休み”
③ Adjective: “Very green（青々）,” “Cold（寒々）”
④ Adjectival noun: “Stingy（けちけち）,” “Strange（奇々怪々）”
⑤ Adverb: “By chance（たまたま）,” “Desperately（わざわざ）”
⑥ Numeral: “One by one（一々）,” “Three by three（三々五々）”
⑦ Interjection: “Oh dear（いやいや）,” “Oh my（あらあら）”