Japanese
Alternative forms
Pronunciation
Noun
チャリンコ (romaji charinko)
- (slang) a bicycle
- (slang) a moped (less common)
Usage notes
May have childish overtones. Not used in formal contexts.
Synonyms
- (bicycle): 自転車 (じてんしゃ, jitensha)
- (moped): オートバイ (ōtobai)
Derived terms
Derived terms
- チャリ (chari): abbreviated form
- チャリ通 (チャリつう, charitsū): commuting by bicycle
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- ママチャリ (mamachari): a “mama bike”, with baskets in front and back, or possibly a child seat in back
- ババチャリ (babachari): (pejorative) an “old-lady bike”, a bicycle ridden by an elderly woman
- カマチャリ (kamachari): a “praying mantis bike”, a bicycle with the handlebars turned upwards to resemble the front legs of a 蟷螂 (kamakiri, “praying mantis”)
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Etymology 2
Unknown. Possibly a compound of チャリン (charin, the sound of metal clinking, such as coins) + 子 (ko, “child”).
In use since the Edo period, pre-dating the bicycle sense. Apparently falling out of use some time after the end of WWII.
Pronunciation
Noun
チャリンコ (romaji charinko)
- (obsolete) a child pickpocket
Synonyms
- (pickpocket, in general):
- 掏摸, 掏児 (すり, suri)
- 巾着きり (きんちゃくきり, kinchaku-kiri) (compare English cutpurse)
- ちぼ (chibo) (slang, Kyōto and Ōsaka areas)
References
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1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9