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I was reading this two articles:
I first thought that onigiri was a type of sushi but it's not.
It calls my attention how something with similar names mean something so different. So my question is:
nigiri mean?o in the beginning of a word mean something special?It is a "rice ball", usually with some kind of meat inside and wrapped in seaweed (similar to sushi). Unlike sushi though, which you hold and eat with chopsticks, an onigiri is made to hold in the hand.
The o- is an honorific prefix. It is used to give respect to an object or person, and is done with several choice words (including o-sushi). This sociolinguistic aspect of the Japanese language is imperative to understand, as some words can often sound harsh and/or insulting if the honorific prefix is omitted. See this article for a more detailed description.
edit:
[握]{にぎ}り[寿司]{ずし} is a specific kind of sushi. An お[握]{にぎ}り is a rice ball. The word [握]{にぎ}り alone simply means "a grip or handle" (like a doorknob). They're all derived from the verb "[握]{にぎ}る", meaning "to grasp". On the second page you posted, they appear to be using "nigiri" as shorthand for "nigiri-zushi".
nigiri have any japanese meaning apart from the food?
結び comes from 結ぶ which means to "bind/wrap/tie up". In one sense, it can mean "ending" as mentioned (where it all gets "tied-up"), but it's also a synonym for お握り, probably because they're often wrapped with seaweed.
Nigiri is a rice ball although it cant be made into a ball since balls of nigiri and rice bowls with round top is usually an offering to the dead and if you make a round rice ball and eat it, it is said to bring you very bad luck. The O in front of nigiri or any other word just makes the word more polite. Many think nigiri is sushi rice balls but has nothing to do with sushi. It is just rice balls but onigiri is also the sushi that are rectangle rice balls with fish or other toppings on it or is rice balls that are made into triangles with nori on it or not which the rice is plain withought being mixed with vinegar. Many think sushi is fish on rice but sushi refers mostly to the rice and nothing to do with fish. The SU in sushi is vinegar so Su= vinegar SHI = DO SO SUSHI= MADE WITH VINEGAR.
Also Nigiri has another Japanese name called Musubi or Omusubi and the names is different depending what part of Japan you are in.
