Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

kendama

/ˈkɛnˌdɑːmə/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 1.41 in modern English

Syllables: kendama
IPA: /ˈkɛnˌdɑːmə/

14

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

1

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A traditional Japanese toy with an attached ball that can be caught in any of three cups or on a spike.

Example Sentences

"An especially haunting work, “If the Moment Came,” is a waist-high black box with a top made of wired glass and a murky interior that shows a looping video of a hand playing with a kendama, a Japanese toy featuring a wooden handle and a small ball. The artist, Chloë Cheuk, said that she created the installation after making an audio recording of boys playing with kendamas at one of the 2014 protest sites."
"He spread kendama throughout Japan utilizing strong-minded leadership while working energetically on unifying and codifying the techniques. […] In 1980 Fujiwara moved production of the official JKA kendama to the company Hakushinsya (maker of the Shinfuji)."

Etymology

Borrowed from Japanese けん玉 (けんだま, kendama), from 拳 (けん, ken, “game played with the hands; fist”) or 剣 (けん, ken, “sword”) + 玉 (たま, tama, “ball”).

Inflected Forms

kendamas (plural)

Frequently Paired Words

bilboquet

Questions

How do you pronounce kendama?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkɛnˌdɑːmə/.
What does kendama mean?: A traditional Japanese toy with an attached ball that can be caught in any of three cups or on a spike.
Where does kendama come from?: Borrowed from Japanese けん玉 (けんだま, kendama), from 拳 (けん, ken, “game played with the hands; fist”) or 剣 (けん, ken, “sword”) + 玉 (たま, tama, “ball”).

How to pronounce kendama

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “kendama”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkɛnˌdɑːmə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “kendama”.
Repeat and practice — Say “kendama” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.