枕（まくら、makura）
- pillow

The Japanese word 枕 まくら, which is read as まくら, primarily refers to a pillow. It's an item used to support the head, neck, and sometimes the shoulders while sleeping or resting. It can be filled with various materials like feathers, foam, or buckwheat hulls. Beyond its basic function, 枕 can also be used metaphorically or figuratively to refer to something that provides support or comfort.

⚫︎ 枕 まくらを高くして寝る。 Translation: To sleep with a high pillow. ⚫︎ 赤ちゃんのために、柔らかい枕 まくらを買いました。 Translation: I bought a soft pillow for the baby. ⚫︎ 彼は仕事の疲れで、すぐに枕 まくらに頭をつけた。 Translation: He immediately put his head on the pillow due to work fatigue.

⚫︎ 枕 まくら is used in everyday conversation to describe the physical object. ⚫︎ You would use it when talking about sleeping, resting, or anything related to the head's support. ⚫︎ It can be used in discussions about comfort, sleep quality, or the type of pillow one prefers.

⚫︎ The word is most commonly written in kanji as 枕. ⚫︎ Hiragana: まくら ⚫︎ Katakana: This word is not typically written in katakana. ⚫︎ There are no significant variations in the okurigana.

There aren't many direct synonyms for 枕 まくら, as it is a specific object. However, related words might include: ⚫︎ クッション (kushon) - cushion, which could serve a similar purpose for resting, though it’s not specifically a pillow. ⚫︎ 安眠 (anmin) - sound sleep (although this is related to the function rather than the object itself).

There aren't any direct antonyms for 枕 まくら as a physical object, but you could consider: ⚫︎ 床 (yuka) - floor, which is where one might *not* be resting their head.

毎晩、新しい《枕 まくらで寝ています。》 ・Translation: I sleep with a new pillow every night. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the frequency of using a 枕 まくら.

この《枕 まくらは柔らかくて、とても気持ちがいいです。》 ・Translation: This pillow is soft and feels very good. ・Explanation: This sentence expresses an opinion about the 枕 まくら's comfort.

The etymology of 枕 まくら is not definitively known, but it is believed to have originated from the verb 曲がる (magaru), meaning "to bend" or "to curve", perhaps referring to the way the head curves into the pillow. The "ra" sound is thought to be a suffix common in nouns. The earliest appearances of the word indicate that the kanji 枕 was adopted later, as it was originally written phonetically using other characters.