あん摩ま

あ

ん

ま

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb

massage; anma massage

Refers to massage in general, but especially the traditional Japanese anma technique. Can be used as a noun or with する to mean 'to give/receive a massage'.

肩かたが凝こったので、あん摩まをしてもらった。
My shoulders were stiff, so I had a massage.
彼かれは毎まい晩ばん、自じ分

ぶん

で

足あし

を

あん

摩ま

し

て

いる

。

He massages his own feet every night.

noun

masseur; masseuse

sensitive

Sensitive term for a massage practitioner, especially one trained in traditional anma. Often replaced by more modern terms like マッサージ師 in contemporary contexts.

祖そ父ふは若わかい頃ころ、あん摩まとして働はたらいていた。
My grandfather worked as a masseur when he was young.

noun

blind person

archaiccolloquial

Archaic and colloquial term for a blind person, derived from the historical association of blind people with the massage profession. Now considered outdated and potentially offensive.

昔むかしは「あんま」が目めの不ふ自じ由ゆうな人ひとを指さす言こと葉ばとして使つかわれた。
In the past, 'anma' was used as a word for blind people.

Written forms

あん摩まUsage6%
Standard kanji spelling with high priority; the 摩 kanji is commonly used for massage.
按あん摩まUsage65%
Alternate kanji spelling; less common but still encountered.
あんまUsage16%
Kana spelling is common in everyday writing, especially when the kanji are not needed.
アンマUsage13%

Kanji

摩chafe, rub, polish
按hold, consider, investigate

Similar words

マッサージ
A more general and modern loanword for massage, not specifically tied to the traditional Japanese anma technique.
指し圧あつ
Shiatsu, a Japanese finger-pressure therapy, is a distinct modality from anma, though both are traditional manual therapies.

Etymology

From Chinese 按摩 (ànmó). The traditional Japanese massage technique anma was historically practiced by blind people, leading to the archaic sense 'blind person'.