ダニ

ダ

ニ

Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

tick; mite

usually written using kana alone

General term for ticks and mites; commonly used in everyday contexts such as pest warnings and pet care.

colloquialusually written using kana alone

Colloquial, somewhat dated slang for a ruffian or street tough; not commonly used in modern conversation.

〈人ひと〉がダニに刺さされるto get bitten by a tick/mite
山やま歩あるきの後あと、足あしをダニに刺さされた。
After hiking in the mountains, I got bitten on the leg by a tick.
ダニを駆く除じょするto exterminate ticks/mites
布ふ団とんを天てん日ぴ干ぼししてダニを駆く除じょした。
I sun-dried the futon to get rid of the dust mites.
〈場ば所しょ〉にダニがわくfor ticks/mites to breed (in a place)
湿しっ気けの多おおい部屋へやにはダニがわきやすい。
Mites tend to breed in humid rooms.

ゴロツキ sense 2
ダニ is dated slang for a hoodlum, whereas ごろつき is the more common, current word for the same idea.

マダニ sense 1
ダニ is the general term for ticks and mites, while マダニ refers specifically to hard ticks, a subset of ダニ.

匹ひきN3
counter for small animals · counter for rolls of cloth · archaic counter for horses · roll of cloth

ダニUsage98%
kana-only spelling
Standard katakana spelling for the tick/mite sense; the word is usually written in kana.
だにUsage2%
Hiragana spelling, also common.
壁だ蝨にUsage<1%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form for tick/mite; not normally used in modern writing.
蜱だに
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form for tick/mite.
蟎だに
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji form for tick/mite.

The origin is uncertain. The tick/mite sense is native Japanese, while the slang sense likely derives from the idea of a blood-sucking pest.