ネタ切れ – I’m out of Ideas

Today I was trying to think of a topic to write about. I thought of a few ideas but realized that I already had similar posts. So, I got stuck and was not sure what I should write about. But it then hit me that I could write about not knowing what to write about. There is a word for this in Japanese known as ネタ切ぎれ. Let’s take a look

What does ネタ切れ mean?

Basically, ネタ切れ means just that, running out of ideas.  ネタ切れ is a compound word made up of ネタ and 切れ. First, 切れ comes from the word 切れる which is a verb meaning to be cut, snapped or break.

切れる is also used in compound verbs to mean something runs out. For example, 売うれきれる means to sell out. So, in the word ネタ切れ the 切れ means to have run out of ネタ.

https://japaneseuniverse.com/2024/02/18/pac-man-in-japaneseconcepts-behind-development-to-global-icon/

ネタ is a word that comes from the word in Japanese for seed which is 種たね.  ネタ was created by flipping the positions of the two syllables. The word ネタ refers to information, topics, material to write about, talk about, or whatever.

Hence, we have these two words, ネタ✙切れ which make the word ネタ切れ.

Resources

• ネタ切れ – Weblio