kuchisabishii 口寂しい

Kuchisabishii is when your mouth is lonely, prompting you to snack for entertainment rather than hunger.

Back at home you might be watching TV and realizing your hand is in a bag of chips. Or you might find yourself opening the fridge just to say hi. In Japan, kuchisabishii (and its manifestations) takes on new forms:

• That midnight ramen becomes a necessary life choice.
• Suddenly those octopus-flavored chips in the konbini look tempting.
• Trying every new Kit Kat flavor you find? Consider it cultural research.