玩

to play with; trifle with; fiddle with; take pleasure in; make fun of; relish; cherish

Kanji 1982

Find out about traditional Japanese toys (e.g., limbless kokeshi and wheeled pigeons) and see how they vary regionally. Learn to talk about fiddling with hair, playing with dolls, and keeping pets. Then lose your innocence with terms for toying with people or treating them as playthings. Afterward, redeem yourself by learning to express deep appreciation for things like calligraphy.

Revision history:

Feb. 24, 2023: p. 7: Made several clarifications to the photo caption.

Sept. 9, 2022: 

• p. 9: Changed the renderings of もてあそぶ to this sequence: 弄ぶ or 玩ぶ or 翫ぶ.
• p. 10: Made several small changes throughout the page. These are some highlights:

• Changed the translation of 人をバカにするのもいい加減にしろ！ to “Cut it out! Stop making fun of me!” in the sidebar, though the previous translation was fine.

• Changed the definitions of 玩弄物 to “(1) toy; (2) plaything (an object or person)).”

• Changed the translation of 彼は玩弄物になることにうんざりしている。to “He is sick of being toyed with,” though the previous translation was fine.

Feb. 6, 2022: 

• p. 2, Etymology Box: Added the Henshall etymology and updated the Sears link.
• p. 14: Added a link to the Kanshudo games.

Dec. 12, 2014: Originally published.