"Otomatone", is it made by combining "sound" and "hand"? "Otomatone", is it made by combining "sound" and "hand"? Wiktionary confirms that "oto" is "sound", but not that "mato" means "hand". Sources: Google Search 1, 2, 3 > What does Otamatone mean in Japanese? > Its body is shaped like an eighth note (quaver) where the sound emerges from its mouth on the notehead. This two-handed synthesizer instrument’s name Otamatone is a combination of two words – “oto” which means sound and “mato” which means “hand sound”. While Wikipedia implies that the name's based on "otamajakushi": > The Otamatone is a synthesizer whose body is shaped like an eighth note (quaver) (it also somewhat resembles a tadpole, or a ladle, otamajakushi ( / ) being Japanese for tadpole and ladle) The translation of which is backed up by Wiktionary, of course, and Jisho.

I think your sources are probably wrong. Firstly, it is not ot **o** matone but ot **a** matone. As Wikipedia says, {otamatōn} is made by combining {otamajakushi} (tadpole) and {tōn} (tone). I've never heard of "mato" meaning "hand", and I'm Japanese.