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米食い虫 (こめくいむし) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

米こめ食くい虫むし

こ

め

く

い

む

し

Meanings

1

noun

rice weevil

Literal meaning: a small insect that infests stored rice. The word is also used figuratively for a person who lives off others.

米こめびつに米こめ食くい虫むしがわいてしまった。
Rice weevils have infested the rice bin.

2

noun

good-for-nothing; parasite; deadbeat

Derogatory term for a person who is useless, lives off others, or contributes nothing. Often used in insults.

あいつは働はたらきもせずに親おやの金かねで暮くらしている米こめ食くい虫むしだ。
That guy is a deadbeat who lives off his parents' money without working.

Written forms

米こめ食くい虫むし
Standard kanji spelling using 食い.
米こめ喰くい虫むし
Variant using the less common 喰い; learners are more likely to encounter 食い.

Kanji

米rice, USA, metre
食eat, food
虫insect, bug, temper
喰eat, drink, receive (a blow)

Similar words

穀こく象ぞう
A more technical term for the rice weevil insect, without the figurative insult meaning.
寄き生せい虫ちゅう
Means 'parasite' in a biological sense, and can also be used figuratively for a person who exploits others, but is less colloquial than 米食い虫.

Etymology

Compound of 米 (rice) + 食い (eating) + 虫 (insect). Literally 'rice-eating bug'. The figurative sense derives from the image of a pest that consumes resources without contributing.