もじる

も

じ

る

Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

parody; make a pun on

usually written using kana alone

To humorously imitate or twist a well-known phrase, title, or expression, often by changing a few characters or words.

有ゆう名めいなことわざをもじって、面おも白しろいキャッチコピーを作つくった。
They made a funny catchphrase by parodying a famous proverb.

彼かれはいつも歌うたのタイトルをもじって冗じょう談だんを言いう。

He always makes jokes by twisting song titles.

2

godan verb (-ru), transitive verb

twist; distort

usually written using kana alone

To twist or distort something, often in a figurative sense (e.g., facts, words). Less common than the parody sense.

彼かれは事じ実じつをもじって話はなしを面おも白しろくした。
He twisted the facts to make the story more interesting.

Written forms

もじるUsage69%
Usually written in kana. The kanji form 捩る is rare and may be confused with other readings.
捩もじるUsage31%
Rare kanji form; can also be read as ねじる or よじる.
文も字じる
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage (ateji) playing on 文字 (もじ). Included for search coverage.

Kanji

捩screw, twist, wrench
文sentence, literature, style
字character, letter, word

Similar words

パロディー
パロディー is a noun meaning 'parody', often used for a work that imitates another. もじる is a verb focusing on the act of twisting words or phrases.
ねじる
ねじる means to physically twist or wring something. もじる is usually figurative and often involves wordplay.

Etymology

Derived from 文字 (もじ, 'character, letter') + verbal suffix る. The original meaning is 'to play with characters/words', which extended to parody and punning. The kanji 捩 is an ateji applied later.