Nekojita (Cat's Tongue)

Today, I will talk about the Japanese word "nekojita" (cat's tongue).

Nekojita means people who can't eat hot food/drink.

The etymology is tied to a fact that cats don't prefer to eat hot things.

However, there are no large individual differences in sensitivities of human tongues, and the main cause of nekojita is a usage of tongues.

People who have nekojita feel hot, because they touch hot things on the tip of their tongues that are very sensitive.

On the other hand, people who don't have nekojita touch food/drink on the center of their tongues while placing the tip of tongues on the back side of the teeth.

Therefore, you might overcome nekojita to some extent by changing the way of using your tongues.

猫舌

今日は、猫舌という日本語を紹介します。

猫舌とは、熱いものを飲食することが苦手な人を指す言葉です。

猫が熱いものを食べようとしないことが由来です。

しかし、人の舌の敏感さに大きな個体差はなく、猫舌の原因は舌の使い方にあるそうです。

猫舌の人は、敏感な舌の先端で飲食物に触れるため、熱いと感じます。

一方、猫舌でない人は舌先を歯の裏側に当て、舌の中央で飲食物に触れます。

食べ方・飲み方を工夫するだけで、ある程度猫舌を克服することができます。