Translation guide
The English word 'thorn' refers to a sharp point on a plant, or metaphorically to something annoying or painful. In Japanese, the most common word is とげ, but there are also specific terms for large thorns, splinters, and figurative uses.
The physical sharp outgrowth on a stem or branch of a plant, like a rose thorn.
The most common and general word for thorn, spine, or splinter. Used for plant thorns, fish bones, and figurative 'thorns'.
I got pricked by a rose thorn.
This plant has thorns.
Kanji form of とげ, same meaning but more common in written or formal contexts.
Beware of plants with thorns.
Literally 'large thorn', used for big thorns like those on a citrus tree. Rare and specific.
Lemon trees have large thorns.
A small sharp piece of wood, metal, or glass stuck in the skin.
Something that causes persistent annoyance or emotional pain, like 'a thorn in one's side'.
Idiom meaning 'a nuisance' or 'a thorn in one's side', literally 'a bump above the eye'. Used for a person or thing that is an ongoing irritation.
He is a thorn in my side.
Literally 'thorn in the heart', used for emotional pain or a lingering hurt.
Those words became a thorn in my heart.
Means 'source of worry' or 'cause of trouble', similar to 'thorn in one's side'.
His attitude is a thorn in my side.
Referring to a thorn in a symbolic, literary, or naming context, such as 'crown of thorns'.
The English name 'Thorn' as a surname is usually transliterated as ソーン (sōn), not translated. Do not use とげ for a person's name.
Mr./Ms. Thorn
I had a wood splinter removed.
Walk a thorny path (figuratively, a difficult life).