BOKKI-RI ぼっきり
Meanings
Describes a hard, sturdy, relatively thick object breaking violently or snapping cleanly.
Examples
The pitcher’s blazing fastball snapped the bat in two.
大谷投手の豪速球でバットがぼっきり折れた。
A violent typhoon snapped the tree in our garden.
はげしい台風で、庭の木がぼっきり折れた。
Dogmatic Opinion
I cannot think of much to do with BOKKI-RI except combine it with “break.”
Compared with things that go POKKI-RI—branches, bones, walking sticks, and so on—I imagine something somewhat thicker breaking BOKKI-RI. Thickness matters.
Having said that, I eventually come back to one overwhelmingly convincing candidate: a tree.
If a human bone were thick enough to break with the BOKKI-RI feeling I have in mind, the person’s life itself might be in danger.
And no, despite the sound, it has nothing to do with BOKKI, “erection.” If anything, the direction of movement is rather the opposite.
Proximate Expression
snap
Related Words
For Japanese Learners
Snap, snap in two, break cleanly, and break off may fit. BOKKI-RI is close to POKKI-RI, but this page’s distinction gives BOKKI-RI a heavier, thicker object. It is not a common word learners need to produce frequently.
