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Examples
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He brings up the notion of "mottainai," a word that is difficult to translate into English yet explains why the Japanese save wrapping paper from gifts to use again and again.
NYT > Home Page By DWIGHT GARNER 2011
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She also tells the tale of how she was introduced to the Buddhist word mottainai, which means to treat all resources with respect and gratitude, and how she now focuses on the 4 R's "reduce, reuse, recycle and repair."
TreeHugger 2008
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(節約, scrimping and saving) is on everyone's lips these days, not to mention that well-worn phrase mottainai (もったいない, waste not want not), which now appears in print more often as romanji or katakana as if it was some exotic imported word rather than something our grandmothers used to say, nay - holler at least 15 times a day.
News On Japan 2009
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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Wangari Maathai visited Japan in 2005, empathised with “mottainai”, starting the activities
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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Japan's success as a global role model in energy efficiency is rooted in a deep-seated cultural value of "mottainai", which translates as "too precious to waste".
Daniel Yergin: Energy Efficiency: The New "First Fuel" Daniel Yergin 2011
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