みみずばれ

Written forms

• みみずばれUsage11%

  Kana spelling is standard; usually written in kana.

• みみず腫ばれUsage58%

  Mixed kanji-hiragana spelling; less common than pure kana.

• ミミズ腫ばれUsage32%

  Mixed kanji-katakana spelling; ミミズ is often written in katakana for the earthworm, but the whole word is usually written in kana.

• 蚯蚓みみず腫ばれ

  Full kanji spelling using rare characters; rarely used in practice.

• 蚯蚓みみず脹ばれ
  rarely-used kanji form

  Rare kanji form with 脹れ instead of 腫れ; it is rarely used.

Etymology

Compound of みみず (earthworm) and 腫れ (swelling), from the resemblance of the raised mark to an earthworm.