粉末（ふんまつ、funmatsu）
- powder

The Japanese word 粉末 (ふんまつ) means "powder" or "fine powder." It refers to a substance that has been ground or crushed into very small, dry particles. This can apply to a wide variety of materials, from food ingredients to chemicals to minerals. The term emphasizes the fineness of the particles. It can also describe a state, like the state of being powdered.

⚫︎小麦粉の粉末 Translation: Wheat flour powder ⚫︎金属の粉末 Translation: Metal powder ⚫︎薬の粉末を水に溶かす Translation: To dissolve the powdered medicine in water

粉末 is used when describing a substance in a powdered form. You can use it in various contexts, such as: ⚫︎Describing ingredients in cooking (e.g., 粉末 of spices). ⚫︎Referring to industrial materials (e.g., metal 粉末). ⚫︎Discussing medicine or supplements (e.g., powdered medicine). When the precise size of the particles is important, you might see other descriptive terms used to modify 粉末, such as 微粉末 (びふんまつ - fine powder) or 粗粉末 (そふんまつ - coarse powder).

⚫︎The word is typically written with the kanji 粉 (ふん - powder) and 末 (まつ - end/tip/powder). ⚫︎Hiragana: ふんまつ ⚫︎The okurigana (the suffix hiragana) is standard and doesn't change.

⚫︎パウダー (paudā) - This is a loanword from English, also meaning "powder." It is commonly used in similar contexts. However, the nuance is slightly different; 粉末 may sound more technical. ⚫︎粉 (こ - ko) - This can sometimes be used as a shorter form of 粉末, but is often used to refer to specific types of powder, like flour or dust.

⚫︎塊 (かたまり - katamari) - lump, mass. This refers to a solid, unbroken piece. ⚫︎液体 (えきたい - ekitai) - liquid. This refers to a substance in a liquid state.

このカレーには、スパイスの粉末がたくさん入っています。 ・Translation: This curry has a lot of powdered spices in it. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the ingredient "powdered spices" used in the curry.

その実験では、金属粉末を高温で加熱した。》 ・Translation: In that experiment, the metal powder was heated at a high temperature. ・Explanation: This sentence describes the usage of metal 粉末 in a scientific experiment.

The word 粉末 is a compound word. 粉 originally meant "flour" or "powder" derived from grain, but it evolved to encompass all forms of powder. 末 means "end" or "tip," but can also refer to the fine particles that are the "end" result of grinding or crushing something. Combined, they create the idea of the fine particles which make up a powder.