How to say 'Insect' in Japanese | 虫

Wondering how to say 'Insect' in Japanese? You're in the right place!

The Japanese word for Insect is 'Mushi', written as 虫 in Japanese.'Insect' in hiragana is むし.

word

虫

Meaning

Insect

Reading

むし

mushi

Kanji

虫Insect

Explanation

The Japanese noun '虫 (むし)' primarily means 'insect'. It refers to small creatures like bugs, beetles, or worms. However, it can also be used metaphorically to describe a gut feeling or intuition, as in '虫の知らせ (むしのしらせ)' (a premonition). Example sentences: There is an insect on the leaf「葉っぱに虫がいる」(はっぱにむしがいる). I have a bad feeling about this「虫の知らせで嫌な予感がする」(むしのしらせでいやなよかんがする). Note that '虫' is often used in compound words, such as '蝶々 (ちょうちょう)' (butterfly) or '蜂 (はち)' (bee).

Part Of Speech

noun

Kanji JLPT

N2

Kanji Grade

1

Frequency

2506

Composition

kanji

Handwriting