"芋虫" meaning in Japanese

See 芋虫 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

IPA: [imo̞mɯ̟ɕi] Forms: 芋虫 [canonical] (ruby: 芋(いも), 虫(むし)), 芋虫 [canonical] (ruby: 芋虫(イモムシ)), imomushi [romanization]
Etymology: Compound of 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”). Refers specifically to hairless caterpillars, most specifically to varieties that eat the leaves of the 里芋 (sato imo, “taro”) or 薩摩芋 (satsuma imo, “sweet potato”). First attested in the Nippo Jisho of 1603. Etymology templates: {{compound|ja|芋|虫|t1=potato, tuber|t2=bug, worm|tr1=imo|tr2=mushi}} 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”) Head templates: {{ja-noun|いもむし|イモムシ}} 芋(いも)虫(むし) or 芋虫(イモムシ) • (imomushi)
  1. a hairless caterpillar
    Sense id: en-芋虫-ja-noun-w03fVI6k Categories (other): Butterflies, Moths Disambiguation of Butterflies: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Moths: 24 20 20 22 14
  2. (figurative) an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars) Tags: figuratively
    Sense id: en-芋虫-ja-noun-~4L~bx~d Categories (other): Japanese entries with incorrect language header, Japanese links with redundant alt parameters, Japanese links with redundant wikilinks, Japanese terms with 2 kanji, Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys, Pages with 1 entry, Pages with entries, Baby animals, Butterflies, Children's games, Moths Disambiguation of Japanese entries with incorrect language header: 6 47 11 31 5 Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant alt parameters: 8 40 17 26 9 Disambiguation of Japanese links with redundant wikilinks: 7 43 15 28 7 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with 2 kanji: 8 28 32 22 9 Disambiguation of Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys: 7 41 20 26 6 Disambiguation of Pages with 1 entry: 4 55 4 35 2 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 3 57 4 33 2 Disambiguation of Baby animals: 4 59 4 28 4 Disambiguation of Butterflies: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Children's games: 4 54 5 33 3 Disambiguation of Moths: 24 20 20 22 14
  3. (figurative, derogatory) a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person Tags: derogatory, figuratively
    Sense id: en-芋虫-ja-noun-djlyytp3 Categories (other): Japanese terms with 2 kanji, Butterflies, Moths Disambiguation of Japanese terms with 2 kanji: 8 28 32 22 9 Disambiguation of Butterflies: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Moths: 24 20 20 22 14
  4. a children's song and game, played by everyone squatting and holding onto the waist or shoulders of the person in front, and the whole group trying to move like a caterpillar Synonyms: 芋虫ころころ, 芋虫ごろごろ
    Sense id: en-芋虫-ja-noun-53lrwBDU Categories (other): Japanese terms with 2 kanji, Butterflies, Moths Disambiguation of Japanese terms with 2 kanji: 8 28 32 22 9 Disambiguation of Butterflies: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Moths: 24 20 20 22 14
  5. a kind of traditional toy made to look and move like a caterpillar Synonyms: 俵転ばし, 俵返り
    Sense id: en-芋虫-ja-noun-W7eE1aTo Categories (other): Butterflies, Moths, Toys Disambiguation of Butterflies: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Moths: 24 20 20 22 14 Disambiguation of Toys: 17 19 20 19 26
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Related terms: 毛虫 (kemushi) (ruby: 毛(ケ), 虫(ムシ)) (english: a hairy caterpillar) 
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  "etymology_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "ja",
        "2": "芋",
        "3": "虫",
        "t1": "potato, tuber",
        "t2": "bug, worm",
        "tr1": "imo",
        "tr2": "mushi"
      },
      "expansion": "芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”)",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”). Refers specifically to hairless caterpillars, most specifically to varieties that eat the leaves of the 里芋 (sato imo, “taro”) or 薩摩芋 (satsuma imo, “sweet potato”).\nFirst attested in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "芋虫",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "芋",
          "いも"
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          "虫",
          "むし"
        ]
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      "tags": [
        "canonical"
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    },
    {
      "form": "芋虫",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "芋虫",
          "イモムシ"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "canonical"
      ]
    },
    {
      "form": "imomushi",
      "tags": [
        "romanization"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "いもむし",
        "2": "イモムシ"
      },
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      "name": "ja-noun"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "Japanese",
  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "noun",
  "related": [
    {
      "_dis1": "0 0 0 0 0",
      "english": "a hairy caterpillar",
      "roman": "kemushi",
      "ruby": [
        [
          "毛",
          "ケ"
        ],
        [
          "虫",
          "ムシ"
        ]
      ],
      "word": "毛虫"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Butterflies",
          "orig": "ja:Butterflies",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Moths",
          "orig": "ja:Moths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              22
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              18
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              3,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "english": "A gigantic caterpillar. Its acid is so strong it can melt anything.",
          "ref": "1999 September 23, “アシッドクロウラー [Acid Crawler]”, in Vol.5, Konami:",
          "roman": "Kyodai na imomushi. Kyōryoku na san o haki, nan demo tokashite shimau.",
          "ruby": [
            [
              "巨",
              "きょ"
            ],
            [
              "大",
              "だい"
            ],
            [
              "強",
              "きょう"
            ],
            [
              "力",
              "りょく"
            ],
            [
              "酸",
              "さん"
            ],
            [
              "何",
              "なん"
            ],
            [
              "溶",
              "と"
            ]
          ],
          "text": "巨大ないもむし。強力な酸をはき、何でも溶かしてしまう。",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a hairless caterpillar"
      ],
      "id": "en-芋虫-ja-noun-w03fVI6k",
      "links": [
        [
          "hairless",
          "hairless"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
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          "_dis": "6 47 11 31 5",
          "kind": "other",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "8 40 17 26 9",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "7 43 15 28 7",
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          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "8 28 32 22 9",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "7 41 20 26 6",
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          "name": "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "4 55 4 35 2",
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          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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          "_dis": "3 57 4 33 2",
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          "_dis": "4 59 4 28 4",
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          "name": "Baby animals",
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          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Butterflies",
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          "_dis": "4 54 5 33 3",
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          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Moths",
          "orig": "ja:Moths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars)"
      ],
      "id": "en-芋虫-ja-noun-~4L~bx~d",
      "links": [
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          "angry",
          "angry"
        ],
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          "person",
          "person"
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        [
          "puff up",
          "puff up"
        ],
        [
          "swollen",
          "swollen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
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          "_dis": "8 28 32 22 9",
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          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Butterflies",
          "orig": "ja:Butterflies",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Moths",
          "orig": "ja:Moths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person"
      ],
      "id": "en-芋虫-ja-noun-djlyytp3",
      "links": [
        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "dummy",
          "dummy"
        ],
        [
          "ridicule",
          "ridicule#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, derogatory) a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "8 28 32 22 9",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Japanese terms with 2 kanji",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Butterflies",
          "orig": "ja:Butterflies",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Moths",
          "orig": "ja:Moths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a children's song and game, played by everyone squatting and holding onto the waist or shoulders of the person in front, and the whole group trying to move like a caterpillar"
      ],
      "id": "en-芋虫-ja-noun-53lrwBDU",
      "links": [
        [
          "song",
          "song"
        ],
        [
          "game",
          "game"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "芋虫ころころ"
        },
        {
          "word": "芋虫ごろごろ"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Butterflies",
          "orig": "ja:Butterflies",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "24 20 20 22 14",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Moths",
          "orig": "ja:Moths",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        },
        {
          "_dis": "17 19 20 19 26",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "ja",
          "name": "Toys",
          "orig": "ja:Toys",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a kind of traditional toy made to look and move like a caterpillar"
      ],
      "id": "en-芋虫-ja-noun-W7eE1aTo",
      "links": [
        [
          "toy",
          "toy"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "俵転ばし"
        },
        {
          "word": "俵返り"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "いもむし"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[imo̞mɯ̟ɕi]"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Daijisen",
    "Nippo Jisho",
    "ja:イモムシ",
    "ja:松村明",
    "芋虫"
  ],
  "word": "芋虫"
}

{
  "categories": [
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    "Japanese entries with incorrect language header",
    "Japanese lemmas",
    "Japanese links with redundant alt parameters",
    "Japanese links with redundant wikilinks",
    "Japanese nouns",
    "Japanese terms spelled with first grade kanji",
    "Japanese terms spelled with secondary school kanji",
    "Japanese terms with 2 kanji",
    "Japanese terms with IPA pronunciation",
    "Japanese terms with redundant sortkeys",
    "Pages with 1 entry",
    "Pages with entries",
    "ja:Baby animals",
    "ja:Butterflies",
    "ja:Children's games",
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    "ja:Toys"
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  "etymology_templates": [
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        "tr2": "mushi"
      },
      "expansion": "芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”)",
      "name": "compound"
    }
  ],
  "etymology_text": "Compound of 芋 (imo, “potato, tuber”) + 虫 (mushi, “bug, worm”). Refers specifically to hairless caterpillars, most specifically to varieties that eat the leaves of the 里芋 (sato imo, “taro”) or 薩摩芋 (satsuma imo, “sweet potato”).\nFirst attested in the Nippo Jisho of 1603.",
  "forms": [
    {
      "form": "芋虫",
      "ruby": [
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          "芋",
          "いも"
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    },
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        "romanization"
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  "lang_code": "ja",
  "pos": "noun",
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    {
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      "ruby": [
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          "虫",
          "ムシ"
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  "senses": [
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        {
          "bold_english_offsets": [
            [
              11,
              22
            ]
          ],
          "bold_roman_offsets": [
            [
              10,
              18
            ]
          ],
          "bold_text_offsets": [
            [
              3,
              7
            ]
          ],
          "english": "A gigantic caterpillar. Its acid is so strong it can melt anything.",
          "ref": "1999 September 23, “アシッドクロウラー [Acid Crawler]”, in Vol.5, Konami:",
          "roman": "Kyodai na imomushi. Kyōryoku na san o haki, nan demo tokashite shimau.",
          "ruby": [
            [
              "巨",
              "きょ"
            ],
            [
              "大",
              "だい"
            ],
            [
              "強",
              "きょう"
            ],
            [
              "力",
              "りょく"
            ],
            [
              "酸",
              "さん"
            ],
            [
              "何",
              "なん"
            ],
            [
              "溶",
              "と"
            ]
          ],
          "text": "巨大ないもむし。強力な酸をはき、何でも溶かしてしまう。",
          "type": "quote"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a hairless caterpillar"
      ],
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        [
          "hairless",
          "hairless"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
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    },
    {
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        "an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars)"
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "angry",
          "angry"
        ],
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          "person",
          "person"
        ],
        [
          "puff up",
          "puff up"
        ],
        [
          "swollen",
          "swollen"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative) an angry person (from the way that a person may puff up when angry and go red and swollen in the face, similar to the defense behaviors of some caterpillars)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "categories": [
        "Japanese derogatory terms"
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person"
      ],
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        [
          "derogatory",
          "derogatory"
        ],
        [
          "dummy",
          "dummy"
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          "ridicule",
          "ridicule#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(figurative, derogatory) a dummy; a term used to ridicule a person"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "derogatory",
        "figuratively"
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "a children's song and game, played by everyone squatting and holding onto the waist or shoulders of the person in front, and the whole group trying to move like a caterpillar"
      ],
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        [
          "song",
          "song"
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        [
          "game",
          "game"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "芋虫ころころ"
        },
        {
          "word": "芋虫ごろごろ"
        }
      ]
    },
    {
      "glosses": [
        "a kind of traditional toy made to look and move like a caterpillar"
      ],
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        [
          "toy",
          "toy"
        ],
        [
          "caterpillar",
          "caterpillar"
        ]
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "俵転ばし"
        },
        {
          "word": "俵返り"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "other": "いもむし"
    },
    {
      "ipa": "[imo̞mɯ̟ɕi]"
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Daijisen",
    "Nippo Jisho",
    "ja:イモムシ",
    "ja:松村明",
    "芋虫"
  ],
  "word": "芋虫"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 芋虫 meaning in Japanese (4.0kB)

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  "msg": "no corresponding start tag found for </span>",
  "path": [
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  "section": "Japanese",
  "subsection": "noun",
  "title": "芋虫",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable Japanese dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-06-01 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-05-20 using wiktextract (3dadd05 and f1c2b61). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.