ヤゴ

also: ヤマメ

ヤ

ゴ

Freq.FrequencyTop 100,000

Meanings

noun

dragonfly nymph; dragonfly naiad

usually written using kana alone

Refers to the aquatic larval stage of dragonflies and damselflies. Common in everyday conversation and nature contexts.

池いけでヤゴを見みつけた。
I found a dragonfly nymph in the pond.
ヤゴは水すい中ちゅうで小ちいさな虫むしを食たべる。
Dragonfly nymphs eat small insects underwater.

Kanji

水water
蠆kind of scorpion
蟇toad

Related words

トンボ
トンボ is the adult dragonfly, while ヤゴ is the aquatic nymph stage.

Written forms

ヤゴUsage90%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is the most common written form for this word.
やごUsage10%
Hiragana spelling is also used.
水蠆
- やご
  Kanji form using 蠆 (scorpion) is rare and mainly found in specialized contexts.
- やまめ
水蟇
- やご
  Alternate kanji form using 蟇 (toad) is very rare.
- やまめ
ヤマメ
kana-only spelling
Alternate reading やまめ, usually written in katakana, is less common than やご.
やまめ
Hiragana for the alternate reading やまめ.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The reading やご may be derived from や (water) and ご (child), but this is not confirmed. The alternate reading やまめ is less common and its derivation is also unclear.