Meanings
- uncountableA Japanese confection made from small pieces of mochi (glutinous rice cakes) that are fried and usually flavored with soy sauce or other flavorings.
arare あられ 霰 little rice crackers resembling hailstones. They are eaten with drinks as tsumamimono.
[1997, Richard Hosking, A Dictionary of Japanese Food, page 5093 more examples
And the newest concoction made by Jen Kunishima at her McCully bakery is Arf Arf Arare, a rice-flour cracker glazed with beef broth, shaped like a tiny doggie bone and hand-wrapped with nori (seaweed).
2000 September 20, Joan Clarke, “Quick Bites”, in Honolulu Advertiser, page D.3We were four generations of women – my maternal greatgrandmother lived with my grandmother at that time – staying in one house with no men, and we were surrounded and supported by the seven sisters who brought us sashimi and takuan for dinner, homemade bento for lunch, arare and mochi and edamame for snacks.
2002, Kimberly Lau, “This Text Which is Not One: Dialectics of Self and Culture in Experimental Autoethnography”, in Journal of Folklore Research, volume 39, number 2/3, page 243A brand named Chimaski focuses on Japanese sweets and snacks. They make accessories that resemble popular snacks such as arare rice crackers and kaki-no-tane rice snacks, which are shaped like persimmon seeds.
2014 January 24, Midori Yamamura, “Styles good enough to eat: Designers launch brands for tasteful wearable treats”, in The Japan News, Lifestyle
Origin
- Japaneseあられ
- Englisharare
From Japanese あられ (arare).
More words from Japanese
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Anagrams
Cite this entry
arare. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arare
“arare.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arare. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “arare,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/arare.
Source: arare on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.