CultureEssayEtymologyIdiomJapanese traditionSlangUncorrected

Shidoro Modoro

  • Have you ever deranged your way of speaking or the talk itself when you were nervous or got drunk.

    しどろもどろ


    Such a state is called “shidoro modoro” (しどろもどろ) in Japanese.
    緊張したり、酔っ払うと、口調や話の内容がひどく乱れることはありませんか?

    “Shidoro” comes from an adjective “shidoshinai” (しどしない), which means that someone is sloppy due to the disarrayed hair or clothes.
    このような状態を、日本語では「しどろもどろ」と言います。

    “Modoro” comes from a verb “modoroku” (もどろく), which means to be cluttered up, and it strengthens the meaning of “shidoro.”
    「しどろ」は「服装や髪が乱れていてだらしない」ことを意味する「しどしない」から来ています。

    In the past, shidoro modoro meant only a state of drunken, but it has come to refer to that something is deranged in a board sense.
    「もどろ」は「入り乱れる」という意味の「もどろく」から来ており、「しどろ」の意味を強めています。

    Original sentence