Japanese Purupuru Water Jelly Drink

It was hot this summer in 2023, and what I most drunk was “Water Jelly”, which is sold at vending machines mainly at stations. When I use Nippori station in Tokyo, I always buy the Water Jelly. The package says “natural water jelly” and “sherbet when frozen.”

Does Water Jelly have a flavour?

Yes, it certainly does. Don’t worry, it has a Japanese lemonade flavour known as ramune. It’s not just sweet, but also has a refreshing mint taste that lingers after you sip it. Don’t forget that before drinking Water Jelly, we need to shake it strongly to break a chunk of jelly. It has a “purupuru” texture and is easy to drink. The Water Jelly drink saved my life from a super hot summer.

You can get Water Jelly drink at vending machines mainly in JR stations

What is the “purupuru” texture?

The Water Jelly drink actually has a purupuru /puɾupuɾu/ texture. Purupuru is usually used for something like jelly or pudding. Purupuru represents the texture of watery, soft and bouncy.

As another example, it is used for shivering small dogs, like Chihuahua. When they are shivering, we say “プルプルしてる /puɾupuɾu ʃiteiɾu/,” which means “it is shivering or shaking.“ The point of Puru Puru is that it’s wiggling rather than obvious.

Examples of purupuru

このプリン、プルプルだよね

/kono puɾin puɾupuɾu dajone/

This pudding is really purupuru (soft and bouncy), isn’t it?

*If you are more interested in Japanese expressions of “sentence-final particles,” like だよね /dajone/, please visit the below post, too.

Sounds Like More Japanese

この犬プルプルしてるけど、可愛い！

/kono inu purupuru ʃiteɾu kedo kawaiː/

This dog is doing purupuru (shivering), but cute!

What is buruburu /buɾubuɾu/?

A similar expression, called buruburu represents shivering or shaking, too. Buruburu is used when someone or something is clearly shaking as opposed to the wiggling Puru Puru.