Compound Word
Kanji Compound, Jukugo
noun
Ripened language is language that's had some time to mature like fine wine. We're talking about nuanced, grown-up words: compound words or kanji compounds. You know that "jukugo" thing we talk about so much? That's this!
熟語 refers to Japanese words made up of two or more kanji — stuff like 天気, 学校, and even the word 熟語 itself. You may also see it in the context of 四字熟語 (よじじゅくご) — four-character kanji compounds that often have idiomatic or proverbial meanings.
In Japanese schools, 熟語 can sometimes refer to idioms or common word pairings in foreign languages. But when talking about Japanese itself, 熟語 simply means kanji compounds — kanji teaming up so their meanings can ripen into one neat little word!
This is a jukugo word that uses the on'yomi readings of the kanji. You should be able to read this on your own.
昨日その熟語を学んだところです。
I just learned that compound word yesterday.