蟻
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Translingual
Han character
蟻 (radical 142, 虫+13, 19 strokes, cangjie input 中戈廿土戈 (LITGI), four-corner 58153, composition ⿰虫義)
References
- KangXi: page 1099, character 3
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33672
- Dae Jaweon: page 1563, character 8
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 4, page 2898, character 11
- Unihan data for U+87FB
Chinese
trad. | 蟻 | |
---|---|---|
simp. | 蚁 | |
variant forms | 螘 蛾 |
Glyph origin
Characters in the same phonetic series (我) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
---|---|
Old Chinese | |
莪 | *ŋaːl |
哦 | *ŋaːl |
娥 | *ŋaːl |
峨 | *ŋaːl |
峩 | *ŋaːl |
鵝 | *ŋaːl |
俄 | *ŋaːl |
蛾 | *ŋaːl, *ŋralʔ |
睋 | *ŋaːl |
涐 | *ŋaːl |
誐 | *ŋaːl |
硪 | *ŋaːl, *ŋaːlʔ |
我 | *ŋaːlʔ |
騀 | *ŋaːlʔ |
餓 | *ŋaːls |
義 | *ŋrals |
儀 | *ŋral |
轙 | *ŋral, *ŋralʔ |
檥 | *ŋral, *ŋralʔ |
蟻 | *ŋralʔ |
艤 | *ŋralʔ |
礒 | *ŋralʔ |
羛 | *ŋralʔ, *hŋral |
議 | *ŋrals |
犧 | *hŋral |
曦 | *hŋral |
羲 | *hŋral |
Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *ŋralʔ) : semantic 虫 (“insect”) + phonetic 義 (OC *ŋrals).
Etymology
Pronunciation
Definitions
蟻
Synonyms
Compounds
Japanese
Alternative forms
- 螘 (rare)
Etymology 1
Kanji in this term |
---|
蟻 |
ぎ Hyōgaiji |
on’yomi |
From Middle Chinese 蟻 (ngjeX). Compare modern Cantonese reading ngai5.
Usage notes
This reading is only found in compounds. When the character is used on its own, it is always read as the kun'yomi of ari.
Derived terms
- 蟻群 (gigun): a group of ants
- 蟻径 (gikei): a narrow road or path (from the way that ants tend to travel in single file)
- 蟻穴 (giketsu): an anthill, a hole dug by ants; a very small fault or mistake
- 蟻蚕 (gisan): a silkworm that has just hatched from its egg (from the superficial similarity to an ant)
- 蟻酸 (gisan): formic acid
- 蟻酸塩 (gisan'en): formate
- 蟻集, 蟻聚 (gishū): a large grouping, as of many ants
- 蟻走感 (gisōkan): formication: a feeling as of many bugs crawling on one's skin
- 蟻付 (gifu): a large grouping or gathering of people, much as ants will gather around something sweet
- 蟻封 (gihō): an anthill
- 蟻量 (giryō): “ant-weight”: the weight of a silkworm just after hatching from its egg (see 蟻蚕 above)
- 蟻垤 (gitetsu): an anthill
Etymology 2
Kanji in this term |
---|
蟻 |
あり Hyōgaiji |
kun’yomi |
Unknown. From Old Japanese, but ultimate derivation remains a mystery. There are potentially interesting similarities to Korean 아리 (ari, “leg”) and 아래 (arae, “below, beneath”), but evidence is lacking.
Idioms
- 蟻の這い出る隙間もない (ari no haideru sukima mo nai): “not even a crack wide enough for an ant to crawl through” → without a gap, close, tight
- 蟻の熊野参り (ari no Kumano-mairi), 蟻の伊勢参り (ari no Ise-mairi), 蟻の百度参り (ari no hyakudo-mairi), 蟻の堂参り (ari no dō-mairi), 蟻の物参り (ari no mono-mairi): “an ants' pilgrimage to Kumano / Ise / the hundred shrines and temples / the temples / the holy sites” → a metaphor likening ants in single file to a procession of pilgrims; alternately, a metaphor for a large group of people moving in single file
- 蟻の一穴 (ari no ikketsu): “a single ant-hole” → a metaphor for the way a tiny thing can cause grave consequences; compare a stitch in time saves nine
- 蟻の穴から堤も崩れる (ari no ana kara tsutsumi mo kuzureru), 蟻の穴より堤の崩れ (ari no ana yori tsutsumi no kuzure): “even a dike can fall apart due to an ant-hole” → a metaphor for the way a tiny thing can cause grave consequences; compare a stitch in time saves nine
- 蟻の甘きにつく如し (ari no amaki ni tsuku gotoshi): “just like ants drawn to a sweet” → a metaphor for the way that people are drawn to profitable things; compare like a moth to a flame, of nearly opposite meaning
- 蟻の思いも天に届く (ari no omoi mo ten ni todoku), 蟻の思いも天に昇る (ari no omoi mo ten ni noboru): “even an ant's thoughts can reach / rise to the heavens” → no matter how humble or lowly, if one tries hard enough, one's wishes can still be heard by the gods in heaven; compare where there's a will, there's a way
- 蟻の塔を組む如し (ari no tō o kumu gotoshi): “just like building an ant tower [anthill]” → even great deeds can be accomplished through patient work; compare a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step
Derived terms
- 蟻の塔 (ari no tō): an “ant tower” → an anthill
- 蟻塚 (arizuka): an anthill
- 蟻の塔草 (ari no tō-gusa): a kind of seaberry, Haloragis micrantha
- 蟻の塔草科 (ari no tō-gusa ka): the seaberry family, Haloragaceae
- 蟻の子 (ari no ko): an ant, particularly one without wings; an ant egg or larva
Etymology 3
Kanji in this term |
---|
蟻 |
ありのこ Hyōgaiji |
kun’yomi |
Compound of 蟻 (ari, “ant”) + の (no, possessive particle) + 子 (ko, “child; small thing”).
Alternative forms
Noun
Usage notes
The spelling of 蟻 for ari no ko is generally only seen in old texts. In modern Japanese, this term is much more commonly spelled as 蟻の子.
References
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
- Yoshinori Kobayashi, Kojisho Ongi Shūsei 1: Shin'yaku Kegonkyō Ongi Shiki (in Japanese), Kyūko Shoin (published 1978; original text from 794), ISBN 4-7629-3088-1.
Korean
Hanja
蟻 • (ui) (hangeul 의, revised ui, McCune–Reischauer ŭi, Yale uy)
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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Northern Amami-Oshima
Oki-No-Erabu
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˀani/
Southern Amami-Oshima
Vietnamese
Yonaguni
Pronunciation
- IPA(key): /ˀaja/