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I came across

もったいないお化けがでる

What does that mean?

Earthliŋ
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Newbie
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1 Answers1

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If you don't finish your plate, then the leftover food will come to life and this you call もったいないお化け.

Apparently, this concept originates in this TV spot and as far as I can tell is also nowadays a common way to encourage children to finish their plate.

Telling children that their leftover food will turn into monsters if they don't eat it may sound quite bizarre when you say it like this, but I guess in the context of Japanese culture it is not such an outlandish idea, considering that objects may have a kind of "soul".

Earthliŋ
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    This video brings me back to the 80s... – naruto Aug 19 '20 at 18:06
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    FYI: もったいないおばけ{LHHHHHHHL}, otherwise it'd be just a ghost who is wasteful – broccoli facemask Aug 20 '20 at 03:46
  • @broccolifacemask-cloth I didn't get what you mean. Are you saying ったいないおば = ghost who is wasteful? – Newbie Aug 20 '20 at 10:38
  • I suppose this is not restricted to food and can be applied to anything as long as it depicts wastefullness? – Newbie Aug 20 '20 at 10:43
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    @Newbie I think it’s showing the [pitch](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_pitch_accent) [accent](https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Japanese/Pitch_accent), although I’m not sure myself how/why it affects meaning here. It’s not that ったいないおば has a separate meaning, but that it’s pronounced with a high pitch non-stop. – Chortos-2 Aug 20 '20 at 11:59
  • @Newbie Chortos-2 is right. Also see https://japanese.meta.stackexchange.com/q/403/7810 – broccoli facemask Aug 20 '20 at 13:41
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    @Newbie FWIW the "otherwise" one is meant to be もったいない{LHHHHL}おばけ{LHL} – broccoli facemask Aug 20 '20 at 13:43