Expressions 身み から 出で た 錆さび suffering the consequences of one's own actions; reaping what you sow; paying for one's mistakes Related words 錆 refers specifically to the reddish-brown rust that forms on iron through oxidation, while 腐食 is the broader term covering any chemical corrosion of a material.
錆 is the general word for rust (mainly iron oxide), while 緑青 refers specifically to the green patina that forms on copper, brass, or bronze.
Don't confuse with 錆 (さび ) means rust and is a completely different word that happens to share the same sound as サビ (wasabi), so context is needed to tell them apart.
サビ (the musical hook/chorus) is pronounced identically to 錆 （さび ）, which means "rust" and has nothing to do with music.
錆 is the noun 'rust', whereas 錆びる is the verb meaning 'to rust'; learners often mix up which form to use in a sentence.
錆 (さび ) means literal rust or corrosion on metal, while 寂 (さび ) is the aesthetic term for the beauty of age and patina, even though they share the same pronunciation.
Written forms 錆さび Usage 50%
Standard kanji spelling for rust.
さび Usage 39%
錆さ び Usage 9%
Alternate spelling with okurigana, also common.
銹さび Usage 2%
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
鏽さび
rarely-used kanji form
Rarely used kanji form.
Etymology The kanji 錆 is a phono-semantic compound with 金 (metal) and 青 (blue/green), originally referring to the patina on bronze. The reading さび is native Japanese, likely related to the verb 錆びる (to rust).
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