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How do you describe this state of 'melempem' in Japanese?

This is the food (kerupuk) in question:

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Melempem = a state of condition of something that lacks 'hardness' due being out in the open for some time, has gone soft and not crunchy anymore, usually used in cookies, fish/shrimp chips, or belinjo chips. Usage: usually to describe a food.

In Japanese, it's the opposite of 'かりかり' or means lacking stiffness/firmness/something that has gone limp and soft due to exposure to air.

Can we say: 不干な(ふかんな)?

Thanks!

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  • 1
    why "loanwords" tag?
    – naruto
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:40
  • 1
    @naruto because it's from 'Bahasa Indonesia', is it incorrect tagging?
    – Flonne
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:41
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    The "loanwords" tag description says it's for loanwords brought into the Japanese language. I just wanted to make sure you're not saying you want only words written in katakana.
    – naruto
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:56
  • @FlonneLightberry the answer from naruto: 湿気った, is commonly used for describing food.
    – Maki
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:56
  • I'm waiting for more onomatopoiea answers. Anyway, thanks for your prompt reply!
    – Flonne
    Dec 28, 2017 at 8:02

2 Answers 2

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Judging from your description, I think the word you're looking for is 湿気る【しける】 (verb). You can modify a noun using this word like 湿気たクッキー or 湿気ったクッキー. You can find many articles on the net about how to restore 湿気たクッキー to its original crisp status.

不干な makes no sense to me. 湿る【しめる】 is another option, but it's primarily used for towels and such.

EDIT: If you want mimetic words, there is a word しっとり. But this does not have a negative connotation, so you usually have to use it with ~てしまう, for example しっとり(と)してしまったクッキー, to indicate it's undesirable. ベトベト also might work if it's really moist.

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  • 湿気る=しっける/しける or 湿気てる=しっけてる/しけってる? I think you nailed the answer :).
    – Flonne
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:56
  • See the jisho's explanation, this word is used both as an ichidan-verb and a godan-verb. Actually, しっける, しける, しっけてる, しけってる all seem okay to me :)
    – naruto
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:58
  • Yeah, at the moment, I'm reading the science behind the 'melempem' > kenkyu.info/interest/student/07.html. (せんべいの湿気についての研究)
    – Flonne
    Dec 28, 2017 at 8:00
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For sponge cakes, we might say "ふっくら" or "ふんわり" for the condition. It's soft and its inner part gets hollow. When you taste it, it's a little bit hard to chew it.

For hairstyle, we might call "もっさり" when we wake up in the morning and before brushing and hairs get tangled and rising up a bit.

I don't have 不干な(ふかんな) in my vocabulary. I might guess something is not dry, however.

Edit:

So, if you want to say rice cracker or seaweed contain too much water, we might call "べっちゃり" or "べちゃべちゃ".

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  • Thanks for the onomatopoiea. How about for rice crackers? Can we use 湿気る?
    – Flonne
    Dec 28, 2017 at 7:58
  • Yes. I think the word "湿気る" is used for something's optimal condition has to be dry such as seaweed(海苔), rice cracker(せんべい), and so on.
    – user25382
    Dec 28, 2017 at 8:29

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