1. Pickled Ginger (ガリ): This is the most common meaning. It refers to the pale, crunchy pickled ginger served alongside sushi and sashimi. It acts as a palate cleanser, helps to remove the lingering taste of fish, and aids in digestion.
2. A type of Japanese Rice Cracker (ガリ): There's a type of thin, crispy rice cracker called "gari" which is often served as a snack or appetizer.
3. Sound of Grinding (ガリ): "Gari" can also be used as an onomatopoeia to represent the sound of something grinding or being crushed.
4. Shortened Form of "Garigari-kun" (ガリガリ君): This is a popular Japanese ice cream brand. "Garigari-kun" is a type of shaved ice popsicle, and "gari" is often used as a shortened, informal name for it.
5. Name (ガリ): While less common, "gari" can also be a name, primarily for boys.
To understand the meaning of "gari" accurately, it's important to look at the context in which it's used. For example, if you see it on a sushi menu, it's referring to pickled ginger. If you hear it being used to describe a sound, it means grinding.