<entry id="2284694" stat="A" corpus="jmdict" type="jmdict">
<ent_corp type="jmdict">jmdict</ent_corp>
<ent_seq>2159210</ent_seq>
<r_ele>
<reb>えんがちょ</reb>
</r_ele>
<r_ele>
<reb>エンガチョ</reb>
</r_ele>
<sense>
<pos>&int;</pos>
<misc>&chn;</misc>
<s_inf>used to tease someone who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself</s_inf>
<gloss>(you're) dirty!</gloss>
<gloss>(you have) cooties!</gloss>
</sense>
<info>
<audit time="2007-05-06 00:00:00" stat="A">
<upd_detl>Entry created</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2011-05-01 01:46:59" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>rene</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Rene Malenfant</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_diff>@@ -13,2 +13,2 @@
-&lt;misc&gt;&amp;col;&lt;/misc&gt;
-&lt;gloss&gt;crossed fingers and word said to call someone to be avoided as 'dirty' (kids' talk)&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;misc&gt;&amp;chn;&lt;/misc&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;crossed fingers and word said to call someone to be avoided as 'dirty'&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2011-05-01 02:26:39" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
</audit>
<audit time="2018-03-21 03:54:41" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_detl>This entry probably needs to be amended.</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2018-03-21 04:34:25" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>In what way?</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>2007 submission: http://www.mag2.com/vow/osiete/engatyo.htm
http://zokugo-dict.com/04e/engacho.htm
http://www.asahi.com/kansai/honma/OSK200607120041.html
http://weekly.freeml.com/chousa/engatyo.html
http://www2u.biglobe.ne.jp/~siren/sub/es09.htm</upd_refs>
</audit>
<audit time="2018-03-28 11:09:41" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>A week has passed and no further details.</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-15 01:31:29" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>Marcus</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Can be improved still but better than the mess this was</upd_detl>
<upd_diff>@@ -11 +11 @@
-&lt;pos&gt;&amp;n;&lt;/pos&gt;
+&lt;pos&gt;&amp;int;&lt;/pos&gt;
@@ -13 +13 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;crossed fingers and word said to call someone to be avoided as 'dirty'&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;no cooties!&lt;/gloss&gt;
@@ -17 +17,2 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;to cross one's fingers (to ward off 'dirt')&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;misc&gt;&amp;chn;&lt;/misc&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;to cross one's fingers (to ward off cooties)&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-15 10:05:23" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_detl>I don't think this has anything to do with cooties.</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/えんがちょ
エンガチョは「糞便を踏んでしまう」「トイレの便器に触れてしまう」など、誰かが不浄なものに触れた瞬間を第三者に目撃された段階が起点となる[1]。
https://belcy.jp/56473
「汚いもの」というのは、「便・吐瀉物・死骸・虫・汚れた動物・泥」などです。</upd_refs>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 04:52:25" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>You're right, I should have actually consulted the dictionaries.
No vs in daijs.</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>daijs
［感］東京地方で、不浄なものに触れた人を、子供がはやしたてる言葉。語源は不詳。「縁がちょんと切れる」ことからとも「因果な性」の音変化ともいう。</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -13,6 +13,3 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;no cooties!&lt;/gloss&gt;
-&lt;/sense&gt;
-&lt;sense&gt;
-&lt;pos&gt;&amp;vs;&lt;/pos&gt;
-&lt;misc&gt;&amp;chn;&lt;/misc&gt;
-&lt;gloss&gt;to cross one's fingers (to ward off cooties)&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;s_inf&gt;used to mock sb. who has touched something dirty&lt;/s_inf&gt;
+&lt;dial&gt;&amp;ktb;&lt;/dial&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;you're dirty!&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 05:49:22" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Hm then again reading the Wikipedia definition of cooties, it pretty much seems to be quite similar?
"Cooties is a _fictitious childhood disease_. It is used in the United States and Canada as a _rejection term_ and an infection tag game (such as 
Humans vs. Zombies). It is similar to the British dreaded lurgi, and to terms used in the Nordic countries, in Italy, Australia and New Zealand.[1] 
A child is said to _"catch" cooties through close contact with an "infected" person_ or from an opposite-sex child of a similar age."
Japanese wikipedia also says of えんがちょ: "基本的に触れられると移る、という理念の下に幼児の鬼ごっこなどに適用される。" i.e. "infection tag game", just 
like cooties. The only thing that seems really different is there's no concept of the opposite sex having it.


最近、不意に子供のころの記憶が浮かぶことがあります。今朝も「どうやくべんべん鍵かった」という呪文を思い出しました。
https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASL2H7X8LL2HUBQU02M.html
"「えんがちょ」では防げない細菌感染
何か汚いものに触るなどした友達に追いかけられた時などに、不潔なものや穢（けが）れをうつされないように、この呪文を唱えながら中指を人さし指と交差させるのです。調べた
ところ、呪文は私の故郷の宮城県で局地的に使われているものでした。... 　宮城県の子供が今もこの呪文を使うのか定かではありませんが、同じような風習は全国にあり、東京で
は「えんがちょ」、京都周辺では「べべんじょかんじょ鍵しめた」、大阪では「びびんちょ」などと言って、やはり印を結ぶそうです。"</upd_detl>
<upd_diff>@@ -13 +13 @@
-&lt;s_inf&gt;used to mock sb. who has touched something dirty&lt;/s_inf&gt;
+&lt;s_inf&gt;used to mock sb. who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself&lt;/s_inf&gt;
@@ -15 +15,2 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;you're dirty!&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;(you have) cooties!&lt;/gloss&gt;
+&lt;gloss&gt;(you're) dirty!&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 05:49:53" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_diff>@@ -13 +13 @@
-&lt;s_inf&gt;used to mock sb. who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself&lt;/s_inf&gt;
+&lt;s_inf&gt;used to tease sb. who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself&lt;/s_inf&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 09:10:10" stat="A">
<upd_uid>Marcus</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>OK, one issue is whether えんがちょ is mainly used to tease the kid with cooties - daijs says 不浄なものに触れた人を、子供が_はやしたてる_言
葉
if so something like "you've got cooties, you've got cooties, na-nana-naa-nah" makes sense, but if it's actually mainly used as a 
"protective spell" like saying "バリア!" to protect yourself from cooties, then the gloss doesn't work that well.
I'll self-approve and re-open to shorten the queue.</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 09:10:39" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>Marcus</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Re-opening.</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 10:08:14" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_detl>cooties are what a person of the opposite sex naturally has

便・吐瀉物・死骸・虫・汚れた動物・泥
I see no mention of opposite sex in that list, nor persons

this is why I do not think cooties is a good translation

it would be better to include concrete examples of what "dirty" is

it's also important to note the accompanying gesture

the reference is short and to the point so please read it in full
it helps with the other entry too</upd_detl>
<upd_refs>https://kotoba.xyz/408/

残酷なことに、汚い（ものを触った、踏んだ）子を遠ざける”仲間はずれ”的な意味合いで使われる。
人差し指と中指をクロスさせる動作とワンセット。
主に小学生の間で流行った。</upd_refs>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-05-30 15:48:34" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_name>Marcus Richert</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Thank you for taking the time to help 
improving this entry.

If you read the bits I quoted from English 
Wikipedia earlier in this thread, you'll 
see that "cooties" isn't exclusively about 
boys vs girls at all. I think "(you've 
got) cooties", together with the note, 
whoch makes its clear about dirt and not 
the opposite sex, is a good translation if 
the word is mainly used to tease the 
"infected" kid, as daijs' makes it seem. 
If it's instead really a synonym to "バリ
ア" then "no cooties!" seems better. (plus 
another less US-centric gloss of course)

I'm not necessarily opposed to mentioning 
the finger pose but daijs doesn't, and the 
note is already longer than ideal. I don't 
think examples of what "dirt" in the note 
alludes to (i.e. stepping in dog poo) 
would add much.</upd_detl>
</audit>
<audit time="2020-06-09 00:23:01" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_detl>Better to have the "dirty" gloss first, esp. as "cootie"  is exclusively North American.</upd_detl>
<upd_diff>@@ -14,0 +15 @@
+&lt;gloss&gt;(you're) dirty!&lt;/gloss&gt;
@@ -16 +16,0 @@
-&lt;gloss&gt;(you're) dirty!&lt;/gloss&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-01-27 22:53:41" stat="A">
<upd_uid>robin1354</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Robin Scott</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_diff>@@ -13 +13 @@
-&lt;s_inf&gt;used to tease sb. who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself&lt;/s_inf&gt;
+&lt;s_inf&gt;used to tease someone who has come in contact with something dirty, or to ward off the dirtiness from being "transferred" to oneself&lt;/s_inf&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-11-29 16:33:44" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_refs>daijs</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -14 +14 @@
-&lt;dial&gt;&amp;ktb;&lt;/dial&gt;
+&lt;dial&gt;&amp;std;&lt;/dial&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-11-29 23:31:39" stat="A" unap="true">
<upd_uid>stephen</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Stephen Kraus</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
<upd_refs>daijisen: 東京地方で、…

Apparently for technical reasons, we can't currently use [dial=std].
See entry 2833343

I guess "ktb" (関東弁) includes Tokyo dialect. There might be disagreement on that.
None of my refs besides daijisen describe this as dialectal, though.</upd_refs>
<upd_diff>@@ -14 +13,0 @@
-&lt;dial&gt;&amp;std;&lt;/dial&gt;</upd_diff>
</audit>
<audit time="2023-11-29 23:43:20" stat="A">
<upd_uid>jwb</upd_uid>
<upd_name>Jim Breen</upd_name>
<upd_email>...address hidden...</upd_email>
</audit>
</info>
</entry>