chindogu

C3H4I1N1D2O1G2U1

noun

An ingenious but impractical gadget intended to solve an everyday problem.

OriginJapanese 珍道具 →
Scrabble 15
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Meanings

nounchindogu (plural chindogu)
  1. rareAn ingenious but impractical gadget intended to solve an everyday problem.

    A chindogu cannot be for real use […] Chindogu are tools for everyday life

    2001, J@pan, Inc (volumes 27-32, page 30)
    1 more example

    To be a true example of a chindogu the invention must actually do something while being simultaneously and for all intents and purposes totally useless.

    2002, Network World (volume 19, number 29, page 90)

Origin

  1. Japanese珍道具
  2. Englishchindogu

Japanese 珍道具. Coined by Kenji Kawakami and popularized by the 1995 book "101 Unuseless Japanese Inventions: The Art of Chindōgu".

More words from Japanese

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

douching
Cite this entry
APA

chindogu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chindogu

MLA

“chindogu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chindogu. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chindogu,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chindogu.

Source: chindogu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.