手拭い Hand Towel

Meaning

Primary

Hand Towel

Alternatives

Towel, Tenugui

Word Type

noun

Explanation

You have the kanji for hand and the noun version of the verb for wipe. With a bit of imagination, that makes this a hand towel, or just a towel. They're a very specific kind of cloth towel, which is why you'll also often encounter them with their Japanese name tenugui.

Unlike お手拭き, which you learned about a few levels ago, 手拭い are always towels — never tissues. These thin, flat cloths are long and narrow, serving a variety of purposes beyond simply cleaning your hands. Their history is fascinating, so be sure to look them up!

Reading

てぬぐい

Explanation

You have a standalone vocab (手) combined with the noun version of a verb (拭い from 拭う), which means that this uses kun'yomi readings. You've already learned these, so you should be good to go!

Context

Common Word Combinations

• 手拭いを〜

  手拭いを巻く

  to wrap a tenugui towel around something

  手拭いを使う

  to use a tenugui towel

  手拭いをかぶる

  to wear a tenugui towel on the head

• 手拭いで〜

  手拭いで拭く

  to wipe with a tenugui towel

  手拭いで拭う

  to wipe with a tenugui towel

  手拭いでしばる

  to tie with a tenugui towel

Context Sentences

日本で手拭いを買ってきました。

I bought a tenugui towel in Japan.

手拭いは、ふつうのタオルとどう違うんですか？

How is a tenugui towel different from a regular towel?

うわぁ、かっこいい！ワニカニの手拭いがあるなんて知らなかったです。

Wow, cool! I didn't know there were WaniKani tenugui towels.

Kanji Composition

1. 手

   て Hand
2. 拭

   ふ Wipe