Translation guide
The English word 'scab' can refer to a crust over a wound, a skin disease in plants or animals, or a strikebreaker. This guide focuses on the most common meaning for learners: the crust that forms over a healing wound.
The hard, dry covering that forms over a cut or sore as it heals.
The standard, everyday word for a scab on a person or animal. Used in both spoken and written Japanese.
When I fell, I got a scab on my knee.
If you pick the scab, it'll bleed again.
The kanji form of かさぶた. Rarely used in modern writing; the kana form is strongly preferred.
Let's wait until the scab comes off naturally.
A contagious skin disease causing itching and scabs, especially in animals.
A fungal disease causing scabby lesions on plants, especially fruit trees and potatoes.
A person who works during a strike, or refuses to join a union.
A scab (かさぶた) is temporary and falls off; a scar (傷跡, きずあと) is the permanent mark left after healing. Using かさぶた for a scar is incorrect.
When the scab came off, a clean scar remained.
その猫は皮膚病でかさぶただらけだ。
That cat is covered in scabs from a skin disease.
He was criticized as a scab.