盆
ぼん
tray; Bon, the Festival of the Dead (お盆)
By Nihongo PathUpdated
Examples
お盆にお茶をのせて運んだ。
おぼんにおちゃをのせてはこんだ。
I carried the tea in on a tray.
お盆には家族で祖母の家に集まります。
おぼんにはかぞくでそぼのいえにあつまります。
At Bon, the whole family gathers at my grandmother's house.
お盆の時期は道路がとても混む。
おぼんのじきはどうろがとてもこむ。
The roads are very crowded during the Bon season.
Common patterns
- お盆にのせる
- to put on a tray
- お盆休み
- the Bon holidays
- 盆と正月
- Bon and New Year (the two big holidays)
Memory tip
Two quite different senses share one word: the flat tray you carry dishes on, and the mid-August festival when families return home to honour their ancestors. Both are nearly always said with the お prefix: お盆.
Kanji in this word
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What does 盆 mean?