36573
Noticed a word さらさら appearing on various products' packaging I've got from
Japan. The main translation ("rustling sound") doesn't seem like something
you'd ordinarily expect to see there... Especially on such a variety of
products as tea, nappies and books (admittedly, might have been an ad on a
plastic packaging for something else in the latter case). It is shown on front
title side alongside the product description and brand name.

Here are a couple of examples I found around the house:

**Nappies**
[![nappies](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QTAGy.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/QTAGy.jpg)

**Tea** [![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9gp4E.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/9gp4E.jpg)

So, what does this mean?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-10T02:19:18.743
36553
2017-07-25T14:20:19.917
2016-07-10T23:33:56.760
3351
3351
question
translation words onomatopoeia
What is さらさら on packaging?
さらさら means that something is less sticky and to be smoothly rubbed.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-10T06:15:43.237
36554
2016-07-10T06:15:43.237
4092
36553
answer
It is most commonly used for shampoo. It means silky smooth. (Even to a lesser
degree, you can use the word さらさら
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-10T12:57:39.327
36560
2016-07-10T12:57:39.327
16056
36553
answer
(As I noted in the comments,) さらさら is a mimetic word symbolic of such related
but varied qualities as "smoothness of texture," "freedom from wetness or
ickiness," "ease or fluidity of movement," etc., in addition to a light,
rustling sound.

As for the nappies case, the word describes the dryness and comfortableness of
the material (and the retention of it over the course of use).

More interesting is the tea example, which encompasses all the meanings and
qualities mentioned above, and speaks to the range of ideas one use of an
onomatopoeia, or any word, can express at once. This さらさら evokes to my mind
the image of: _dry_ grains of tea making _a soft, rustling sound_ as they
_flow_ down into the cup, dissolving _easily_ upon contact with the (hot)
water therein. (See the image on the package.)

さらさら is a positive description, partly explaining (along with the brevity) its
ubiquity in the marketing messages for commercial products.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-07-11T04:02:15.203
36573
2016-07-11T04:02:15.203
11575
36553
answer